Defense Against The Goblin Arts
by LFFL Collective
Summary: In a world where anything seems possible and nothing is what it seems, the Goblin King is the new defense against the dark arts teacher at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Now, Hogwarts teacher Sarah Williams is caught in the middle of a battle of wits between her favorite King and Severus Snape!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Welcome back students, to a new term here at Hogwarts. I'd like to say a few words before we all become befuddled by the feast before us. First I'm pleased to say that we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year. Allow me to introduce Jareth Kingston, better known as the Goblin King. While we're blessed to have such an important member of the Court of the Underground joining us, his majesty has assured me that no formalities will be necessary. Professor Kingston will do nicely. I'm sure you all will make him feel most welcomed..."

Jareth lounged in his chair at the head table, while Dumbledore rambled on. He liked Albus, for a wizard, but he thought he was terribly long-winded. With a sigh, he glanced down the table at the other professors. His eyes falling on a dark-haired man with a rather large nose, who was glaring at him.

Jareth raised an imperious brow. Professor Severus Snape had, for whatever reason, decided on sight that he didn't care for his new coworker and did not bother with niceties. That was fine; Jareth wasn't too fond of Snape, himself. He seemed a shifty sort of fellow and if there was one thing the Goblin King understood, it was shifty.

Of course, he was pretty sure it also had something to do with the fact that he'd swooped in out of nowhere and snatched a highly-coveted position right out from under Snape's beaky nose, but it wasn't HIS fault that magic-wise, no mere HUMAN, wizard or not, was a match to a genuine, immortal fae. Or that Dumbledore could recognize a unique opportunity when it presented itself, along with the sort of vast knowledge and magical skill said opportunity arrived with.

Snape was going to have to accept this new change of events and that was that.

Jareth smiled, gave a subtle gesture with one finger as Snape raised his goblet to take a sip of pumpkin juice.

A second later, an explosion of coughing and hacking erupted from the head table as Snape doubled over, choking on the red hot pepper sauce that had mysteriously ended up in his cup.

He raised watering eyes to glare once again at the stoic Goblin King, who merely returned the expression with a steely smile and a challenging glint.

Dark eyes narrowed in return.

Challenge accepted.

"Look," whispered a red-headed boy at the far end of one table to his companion, who was his mirror image. "It's on. It's so much on."

"Oh yes. It's on," The twin replied.

Suddenly the door to the Great Hall opened and a dark-haired woman with bright emerald eyes rushed in. "Sorry, I'm late!" She hurried to the front of the room. "I missed the train."

Albus nodded and smiled, motioning to the empty seat at the head table. "Allow me to introduce, Miss Williams, your new Muggle Studies professor."

The room filled with murmurs as Sarah took her seat. Jareth smiled at her, extremely pleased she would be joining him as a member of the staff this year, though curious as to why Dumbledore chose to have a muggle, as the wizards called non-magical beings, teach at a school of witchcraft and wizardry.

Soon, the evening's feast ended and students and teachers alike began trickling from the Great Hall to their dormitories to prepare for their first lessons of the term in the morning. It took quite a bit longer than usual for the House Prefects to wrangle their charges into some semblance of order and lead them from the Hall, as quite a few of the girls continued to linger in order to catch one last glimpse of their mysterious new teacher, and not a small number of the boys. Professor Williams was, after all, quite the hottie in her own right.

The teachers might have been less lenient of this excess dawdling if they themselves weren't guilty of the very same thing. Professor Trelawney and Professor McGonagall, in fact, seemed to be waging their own subtle battle to catch the eye of the handsome king. At least until Professor Williams unceremoniously grabbed Jareth by the lapels and dragged him off to the side for a bit of privacy whilst giving them both the stink eye.

Jareth smirked down at his glowering companion. "Really, Sarah. Is this bit of forceful dominance really necessary? What will the children think?"

"Don't change the subject, Jareth," she sniffed, immediately releasing his ruffles. "I want to know what the hell was going on all through dinner between you and Professor Snape. I know I was late but I can't help feeling like I walked into the middle of a battlefield with the both of you shooting evil-eye beams at each other across the table."

Jareth sniffed and picked a bit of imaginary lint off his cuff. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh. So, when your chair mysteriously collapsed out from under you, that was just you being a big clutz and NOT because three of its legs had somehow burned through?"

His smile melted a bit when she couldn't quite keep her own delighted grin under control at the remembered image.

"Or the fact that no matter HOW many times Professor Snape refilled his cup with pumpkin juice, it somehow turned into something else?"

Jareth revealed a sharp-toothed grin. "Magical goblets. That one must have been malfunctioning. Tricky things, that."

"Bog water, Jareth. It filled with BOG WATER last go round. From YOUR Bog! I'm astonished we didn't have to clear the Hall from the smell!"

"Oh, pfft." He waved it aside. "That was easily enough taken care of with Professor Dumbledore's evaporating spell." His wicked smile returned. "I might suggest you stand clear of Snape's immediate proximity for a while, though. At least, don't let him breathe on you."

Sarah pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just … don't screw this up, Jareth, or I will be VERY unhappy with you," she growled. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me, you know. It's not every day that a common Muggle gets an invitation to teach at a prestigious, magical wizarding school like Hogwarts. Most of us at least have some knowledge of the Wizarding World beforehand, but imagine my surprise when I get dive-bombed by an owl from out of nowhere clutching a job application and a personal invitation by the Headmaster to take up a teaching position in England."

"And yet you certainly accepted readily enough, to my delight," Jareth purred, tracing one gloved finger down her face.

She smirked. "Of course I did. All he had to say was he'd just hired YOU on as the Dark Arts professor and he needed someone … acquainted with you to keep an eye out for you. How could I POSSIBLY refuse?"

"Don't you mean ON me?"

She shrugged. "Potatoes, potahtoes… Seems he doesn't quite trust you to keep yourself in line. And after that testosterone-laden male dominance display at dinner, I'd say he's correct."

"I am not a child in need of babysitting, Sarah," Jareth huffed, looking down his nose at her.

"No, you're an immortal faerie king, which is somehow so much worse." She smiled gently at his affront and smoothed a few strands of his hair over his dark jerkin. "But you ARE powerful and if anyone knows about magic and how to defend against the dark side, it'd be you. Your knowledge will be very useful for these students and the school is lucky to have you."

Ego suitably appeased, Jareth smiled down at her. "Well, enough dawdling, I suppose. Must be off now. I believe we both need some rest, Precious. We have classes to teach. Young minds to warp. It would be bad form to be late on our first day." He smirked when she rolled her eyes and poofed off to his room.

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

The next day passed rather uneventfully, just a normal first day back at school. At least, that is how it appeared to most.

Sarah was on her way to dinner that evening, but she had gotten a bit turned around. She happened upon Severus going through his potions storeroom.

"Good evening Professor Snape"

Severus looked up from his task, "Miss Williams" he drawled

It was then Sarah noticed his hair had been turned fuchsia.

She gasped, "Oh, no!"

"As you can see Ms. Williams, I am quite busy. Was there something you needed?" He snapped

"I wanted to apologize for Jareth's behavior last night...and apparently today as well. He can be a pain in the ass, but he generally means well."

"You are not his keeper Miss Williams, do not feel like you need to apologize for his behavior."

"Call me Sarah," she said with a gentle smile.

"Severus," he said, then downed the potion he had finished. His hair slowly changed back to its natural color.

"I got a bit turned around heading down to the great hall" she admitted. "Would you be able to point me in the right direction?"

"I am headed there myself, I shall escort you...Sarah"

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

Jareth was sitting at the head table in the Grand Hall with all the other teachers, all but two that is. He figured Severus was too ashamed to be seen with his new hair color, but Jareth was curious as to what could be keeping Sarah. He had even saved the seat beside him just for her.

Hearing the door open, he looked up and his blood began to boil. There was his Sarah, being escorted by Snape, who no longer had fuschia hair, and was almost smiling at some comment she had made. Jareth glared at the potions master as he walked her to the table, even going so far as to pull the chair out for her.

"Thank you, Severus." She smiled.

"My pleasure, Sarah." Snape bowed and went to his seat at the other end of the table.

"And what was that about?" Jareth asked Sarah through gritted teeth.

"Oh stop your glaring, Jareth. Severus was just helping me find my way around the castle. I haven't quite figured the layout just yet." Sarah responded before sipping her butterbeer.

"Severus?" Jareth didn't like the familiarity that had suddenly formed between them.

"Yes, his name is Severus, not any of the ridiculous nicknames you call him," Sarah said in a scolding tone. "You really need to behave yourself."

"I haven't the slightest idea what you're referring to." Jareth feigned innocence.

"Maybe I should have Severus make me a potion to slip into your drink." Jareth turned to respond, but her next comment made his eyes widen and left him momentarily speechless. "I think you'd look fabulous with hot pink, glittery hair."

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

The pranks continued over the next several weeks, with no end in sight. After yet another incident, which involved the potions laboratory and a herd of exceedingly pissed-off hippogriffs, Sarah decided that for the sake of her sanity, and continuing employment, enough was enough.

"Jareth, please reconsider this silly prank war," she begged. "It's getting out of hand. What do you have against Severus anyway?" Jareth bristled, but she rushed on before he could open his mouth, "Don't you start. It's been nearly a month now and I call ALL the teachers by their first names. As do YOU, might I remind you. You don't make a fuss about THEM."

"Because I have no qualms with them. But Severus is a git," Jareth sneered. "Just ask any of the students."

"I can't help thinking there might be a reason WHY he treats them that way. And besides, he's perfectly respectable towards anyone who treats HIM with respect. I rather like him. I think YOU would as well if you'd give him half a chance. You both have a lot in common."

He looked positively affronted. "Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the whole tragic, misunderstood anti-hero vibes you both have going for you?"

"Hah!" Jareth pointed smugly. "Except the children, and some adults, are all terrified of him but they all adore ME."

"That's only because they don't really KNOW you." Sarah tutted and gave him a condescending pat on the shoulder. It was almost funny the way he puffed. Had he been an owl he would have resembled a cotton ball with eyeballs and feet. "At any rate," she continued sternly, "changing each other's hair colors is all well and good, but your last prank is taking it a LITTLE too far, don't you think?"

"Oh, pfft," he sniffed. "Nobody got hurt."

"Except for the collateral damage of the entire room being wrecked and several delicate potions that have been simmering since the start of the term being dumped all over the floor! Poor Hagrid spent hours trying to calm the hippogriffs down enough to safely remove them from the castle!"

"Perhaps Snape should have thought of THAT before apparating the gigantic, venomous spider into my classroom cupboard, hmmm?" Jareth crossed his arms smugly. "Not to mention the flock of chickens in my bedroom!"

"Oh, yes!" Sarah snapped her fingers. "Hagrid wanted me to ask you what you did with his pet, anyway. He's quite distraught over its disappearance."

The Goblin King's jaw dropped. "That thing was a PET?"

"Where IS it, Jareth?"

He sighed and waved a dismissive hand. "Galavanting about somewhere in the Fiery Forest, I'd imagine."

Now it was Sarah's turn to gape. "YOU SENT IT TO THE LABYRINTH?!"

Jareth laughed. "Don't worry, I'm certain the Fire Gang is having great fun playing Toss-the-Leg with their new pet."

Sarah rubbed a hand over her face. "Never. Visiting. Underground. Again."

"Oh come now, Sarah. That spider isn't likely to cause you any issues if you visit again." Jareth assured her. "There's only the one after all."

"Until she lays eggs." Sarah groaned.

"It's a female?!" Jareth summoned a crystal to his hand and looked for the blasted thing. Much to his relief, it was just sitting on a bed. "There, see its fine. Sitting there calmly on my bed..." He glared at the crystal as he realized what he had just said. "But not for long." Tossing the crystal up, he snapped his fingers and then caught the crystal, which now held the spider. "There, return this vile thing to Hagrid."

Sarah took the crystal from him and sighed. "And the pranks?"

"Will cease for now, but don't expect me not to retaliate if provoked," Jareth said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Thank you, Jareth." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and hurried to return Hagrid's pet to his home, leaving a smirking Goblin King behind.

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

Later that night, Jareth meandered his way through the castle, and if any wayward students noticed him dawdling a little too long outside the corridor that led toward the Slytherin housing wing, a stern glance from the King quickly sent them scurrying on their way. They liked him, yes, but that didn't mean they were willing to be carted off to this Labyrinth place in the near-foreseeable future.

He was in the middle of a rather one-sided conversation with the wall portraits when a faint, shrill scream echoed down the hall and caused everyone in the immediate vicinity to stop in their tracks.

"Great googly moogly! What in the world was THAT?" one of the portraits gasped.

Jareth's lips curled into a truly shit-eating grin that rivaled the Weasley twins at their most mischievous. "Oh, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," he soothed as he strode purposefully away from the scene. "Carry on, everyone, carry on."

It seemed that Snape had finally discovered the cupboard-full of Labyrinthine Biting Fairies in his bathroom.

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

Despite Sarah's attempts to end the prank war, it continued in full force. Jareth claimed the fairies were already in place before he agreed to stop, and that he only responded to Snape leaving a boggart in his classroom, which actually turned into a fun lesson for the students. Severus meanwhile refused to stop, until Jareth gave up or learned his lesson. Sarah was quickly annoyed with their dick measuring contest. Having no other ideas, she went to Professor McGonagall for help.

"Good morning, Sarah." Professor McGonagall smiled. "And what brings you to my classroom so early?"

"I need your help." Sarah sighed. "I'm sure you know about the prank war between Jareth and Severus."

"My dear, the entire school is aware of that. I believe the Weasley twins are actually behaving because of it, which is a good thing. I suppose you wish to put an end to their pranks?"

"Yes. I asked them to stop but as long as one does something, the other insists on retaliating." Sarah explained. "I'm worried the pranks will go too far and someone, possibly a student, will be injured."

"I see." McGonagall thought a moment. "I believe I know how to end this once and for all, but well need a few items and some help. I can gather the items and I'm certain Fred, George, and Peeves will be most happy to assist us. Do you think you can get a hair or two from Jareth and Severus?"

"Hair? Well, Jareth will be easy. Severus... well I'll do my best. What do you have in mind Minerva?"

"Beat them at their own game." She grinned.

"I told you," said Fred, who was eavesdropping in the hall with his brother George. "It's on. It's so much on."


	2. Chapter 2

**chapter 2**

Getting the hairs from Jareth was easy, he practically purred from the attention. Until she yanked the required hairs out that is. Since then, he had been watching her like a hawk or owl as it were. Which made getting the hairs from Severus infinitely harder.

When she returned to her quarters that night, she called for Squiggle. He was one of Jareth's goblins who had been lurking about and helping him prank Severus.

"Squiggle, I have a mission for you!" She called out. With a quiet pop, he appeared in her room.

"Lady has mission?" He asked with a head tilt. He was confused, usually, the lady only yelled at them to go away.

"Yep, but it's a secret mission. Can you keep a secret?" Seeing him hesitate, she pulled out a rather large chocolate cupcake she had swiped from dinner.

"If you complete your mission, you can have this cupcake. But if you can keep it a secret, I'll get you five more..." She told him, holding up five fingers to make sure he understood.

The poor little goblins eyes practically popped out of his head and he began to drool.

"You got it, lady! I keep secret, I keep secret real good!" He promised, nodding his head so hard Sarah feared it would fall off.

"Ok, this is what I need you to do..." She whispered her secret mission into Squiggle's ear.

"You got it, lady, Squiggle be right back!" He proclaimed, and then promptly disappeared.

A few moments later she heard a scream, followed by the pop of Squiggle's reappearance. He held out a rather large handful of dark hair.

"Here you go lady, I can have cuppy cake now?"

"Oh, poor Severus..." She sighed

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

Sarah took the collected hairs and met McGonagall in her office after class the next day. She found the twins, Fred and George, and Peeves the poltergeist waiting with her. "Ah, Sarah. Perfect timing. I was just explaining to the boys that you are in need of their assistance."

"Hello, Miss Williams." One of the twins grinned.

"Hello, Mr. Weasley." She smirked. She had already fallen victim to their game of pretending to be the other twin. So she no longer guessed who was who. She just called them both Mr. Weasley.

"You're no fun." The other twin complained.

"I think you'll see that isn't true at all after you help with this scheme," Sarah stated.

"What are we doing?" The twins asked together, eyes wide.

"You two will use this potion to become Professor Snape and Professor Kingston. Together we will beat those two at their own game and end the prank war between them." McGonagall explained as she held out two vials of polyjuice potion.

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

Later that day, Sarah walked the halls with the twin that had chosen to be Snape. He had an unusual map in his hand and was currently grinning, which was very odd to see on Severus's face. "Snape is in his dungeon as usual and Kingston is in the courtyard."

"Probably singing or posing in some ridiculous position while the girls fawn over him." Sarah gripped.

George shook his head. "So, Miss Williams, if you don't mind me asking, what is the deal with you and Professor Kingston? Are you two a thing?"

"No, we're not." Sarah snapped. "At most we are friends, I guess. It's a complicated relationship."

"So no snogging in the closet?" George teased.

"Only in his dreams." Sarah scoffed.

George chuckled and folded his map. Tapping it with his wand, he whispered, "Mischief managed." Sarah watched as the map disappeared.

"Interesting map you have there," Sarah commented.

"Comes in handy, now and then." He stated as he put it in his pocket.

"I'm sure it does. Now start acting like Severus, we don't want someone to think something is wrong before we get to do what we came here to accomplish."

Nodding, George made a sour face. "Right." He said the word slowly, trying to mimic Snape's speech pattern.

Jareth was, as Sarah thought, in the courtyard, entertaining a group of female students. He was grinning and laughing at his own joke when he saw her walk outside, Snape at her side. Sarah did her best not to look at him, but she knew he had seen her.

"Excuse me, ladies. I see someone I need to have a word with." Jareth said excusing himself from the gaggle of girls. They all sighed with disappointment as he walked towards Sarah.

Seeing him approaching, Sarah turned her back on him and looked at George. "Now remember, stay in character, don't do something Severus wouldn't do."

"I doubt he'd do any of this, but o well." George shrugged.

Sarah heard the sound of Jareth's boots right behind her and pretended to laugh at some unsaid comment. "Oh, Severus, you really are quite clever."

"A clever fool," Jareth said through gritted teeth.

"And just what did you want?" George drew the words out and paused between every word or two like Snape would.

"I want many things," Jareth commented with a glare in Snape's direction. "Mostly I want you to leave my Sarah alone."

"Jareth..." she turned to face him, but Severus spun her back around.

"I believe Sarah can decide whom she wishes to converse with."

Before Sarah could respond, Jareth grabbed her arm and pulled her close. "She can, but I don't want you corrupting her. She's not a magic user and knows little of your realm."

"Sounds like you're just jealous she prefers the company of wizards over the company of sparkling fairies," Snape replied.

"Fairies?" Jareth was fuming. "I'm no fairy!"

George couldn't help himself. He did the first thing that came to mind. He pulled Sarah from Jareth's grip and kissed her fully on the lips.

Sarah was too stunned to react, this was definitely not part of the plan. The brief and poorly executed kiss was interrupted by a furious looking Goblin King yanking the two apart.

"How dare you..." He growled into the faux Severus' face.

"What is the meaning of this?!" The real Severus demanded as he stepped out of the shadows. He had apparated to the courtyard to unleash his latest prank on Jareth, only to witness "himself" kissing Miss Williams.

Their plan was quickly unraveling. Poor Fred, still disguised as Jareth had the unfortunate timing to come around a corner into the same courtyard looking for Snape.

"Oh bollocks..."

Jareth looked back and forth between the two Snapes, feeling very confused and still extremely pissed off. "There's two of you?"

"And apparently two of you as well," Snape stated as he spotted the fake Jareth. "I have a suspicion as to who our 'twins' are and how they accomplished this."

Sarah tried to look innocent and motioned to Fred to run. George was still being held by his collar by an angry Goblin King. "Whoever you are, this will not go unpunished," Jareth said as he glared at the phony Snape. "Now the question is, have they been pitting us against each other this whole time."

"No, I'm positive they used polyjuice potion and that requires hair from the person you wish to change into. Someone took some of my hair last night." Snape said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I had been certain that you had sent one of your cretins to do so."

"Hair?" Jareth turned to look at Sarah. "Precious, what have you been up to?"

Jareth's attention now on Sarah allowed George to slip out of his grasp and make a run for it. He didn't get far though, Snape grabbed his arm and held him in place. "Are you accusing Sarah of being involved with these miscreants?" He asked as he looked at his double.

"I am," Jareth smirked. "I thought it was strange that you decided to randomly pet my head, though I wasn't going to complain, at least until you pulled out some of my hair."

Sarah tried to act like she was clueless as he backed her against the wall. She started to keep the act going, but when she saw Minerva approaching with Fred, she knew it was over. "You brought this on yourself." She said as she jabbed his chest. "Both of you did."

Caught off guard by her sudden change, Jareth backed off and Snape blinked in surprise. "What?" They asked together.

"Sarah is correct," McGonagall called out to them as she and Fred continued to approach. "You were asked to stop your pranks, but you both refused. You left us with very little choice."

"You were involved in this as well?" Snape asked McGonagall.

"I was, in fact, I gave the polyjuice potion to the boys." She answered. "Now I want you both to swear this prank war is over, or I shall drag the both of you by your ears to the Headmaster's office. Am I clear?"

Snape nodded and looked to Jareth. He knew that she would do as she threatened, even if Sarah wasn't willing to help, which he was certain she would. "I agree to this, what about you?"

Jareth looked back and forth between Snape and the two women. He started to argue, but Sarah's glare made him think twice about it. "Very well. I shall stop and immediately remove the trap I already left for him in the dungeon, as long as he also removes anything already in place."

"I had yet to set it up yet, but it will not be used against you," Snape told him.

"Good, now if both of you will sign this we'll return to minding our own business." McGonagall grinned.

"What is this?" Jareth demanded as he took the paper from her. He read it quickly and shook his head. "Really? Is our word not enough?"

"No." Sarah and McGonagall said together.

Snape took the paper from Jareth and examined. "What sort of enchantment is on this?"

"Just a little spell to ensure you keep your word. If anyone that signs this paper pulls a prank on anyone that also signs the paper, they will be dyed a bright neon shade of green for the rest of the year." McGonagall explained.

"This way if one of us falls victim to a prank we'll know if it was one of you. Sarah said as she took the paper from Snape and signed it, using Jareth's back, much to his confusion, as a desk. She then handed it to McGonagall who quickly signed it. "So, which will it be boys?" She held the paper out to them.

Jareth and Snape sighed but knew they were defeated. "Very well Sarah." Jareth signed and handed it Snape who scribbled his signature and handed it back to McGonagall.

The girls grinned and walked off, leaving the two boys behind. "Can't believe Sarah outwitted me again."

"How so?" Snape asked.

"They signed the paper and I noticed two other names, Fred and George, on there. We can't prank any of them unless we wish to be green."

Sarah glanced behind her and shook her head. "It's too bad we can't prank them. It would be fun to see Jareth squirm."

"He still may," McGonagall smirked and leaned over to whisper. "Peeves didn't sign the paper."

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

Being the trickster that Peeves is, he bided his time before pranking the two professors in order to lull them into a false sense of security. It was almost the holiday break before he decided the time was right.

Peeves knew the twins had a plethora of novelty magic candies, and they never minded him helping himself to their supply. He cleared them out of their spectacularly sticky bubble gum. The gum had a charm on it so it could not be removed by magic. He struck late that night when everyone was asleep.

Sarah was awoken by a very pissed off sounding Goblin King banging on her door. "Sarah! Open up! I know you had something to do with the this!" he hollered.

Bleary-eyed, Sarah threw on a robe and shuffled her way to the door. Peaking her head out, she was instantly very awake. There was Jareth, in nothing but silky sleep pants and slippers. Her eyes slowly traveled up Jareth's lean form eventually falling on his piercing eyes. He was livid.

"Care to explain this!" he said, pointing to his head. Tangled in his hair was a glob of gum about the size of her fist.

Her jaw dropped, Peeves had outdone himself.

"By your expression and your lack of green, I'm guessing you did not know about this," he pouted, placing his hands on his hips.

"You assume correctly Goblin King," mirroring his stance. "And I assume you can't magic it out if it's still there"

He sighed, " I've tried everything. Just look at my hair, Sarah! What am I to do?'"

"Come on in, I'll see what I can do"

Jareth walked into Sarah's quarters with a heavy sigh. "Apologies for waking you the way I did, Precious."

"It's fine, Jareth. If I woke to this mess in my hair I'd be livid too." She had him take a seat so she could look at his hair. "There's at least a dozen pieces of gum here. How did you not notice it when you got into bed?"

"It didn't start that large. Every time I tried to remove it with magic, it grew." Jareth explained as he placed his head on the cool stone table. "Can you remove it without cutting or severely damaging my hair?"

"I believe I can." She looked around the tiny kitchen area of her chambers. "Crap, of course, I don't have any."

"What is needed, Sarah?" Jareth asked as he looked up and took in the sight of her in just her nightgown and robe, which she hadn't bothered to tie. It was a deep blue and the fabric looked silky. He was certain it would feel amazing against his skin, much like his own sleep pants did. He shook his head as his mind started to wander to other thoughts.

Sarah seemed to not notice him staring at her as she kept looking around. "Well I usually use olive oil on Toby, but I hear peanut butter works too. Of course, I don't have either."

Summoning a crystal to his hand, Jareth asked, "Which did you want Precious?"

Looking up, she felt silly for forgetting he could use magic to get the needed item. "Well given the size of this gum, the peanut butter would work better."

Jareth tossed the crystal at Sarah. When she caught it, it had turned into a large jar of creamy peanut butter. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, this should do it." She sat the jar on the table and grabbed a spoon. "Since it is this large, we may have to remove it a little at a time."

"Whatever it takes, Sarah."

She nodded and spooned a large glob of the creamy substance into her hands. Slowly she worked it into his blonde matted hair. "So, you never told me why you agreed to come here." Since this was going to take a while, she figured they might as well chat. She hoped that would also distract her from the fact that he was in her chambers, half naked.

Jareth smiled slightly as he thought of the answer to her question. "Would you believe me if I said I did it to be closer to you?"

"You didn't know I'd be a teacher here. Dumbledore didn't ask me to join the staff until after you had agreed." Sarah stated as she worked more peanut butter into his hair.

"True, but you were living in London." Jareth tried to turn his head to look at her, but she refused to let him move.

"Stop moving." She scolded. "So you agreed to come here to look after children instead of goblins because you'd be nearby? I find that hard to believe. You had no issue just dropping in on me before. Why does being closer make a difference?"

"I use a lot less magic to travel from one place in the Aboveground to another than I do going between the Underground and here," Jareth explained.

Sarah went to the sink and washed her hands and sat at the table with him. "I suppose that makes sense."

"Done already?"

"No, just letting it sit for a bit. The oil in the peanut butter will start to break the gum down and then I can remove it," Sarah explained as she spooned more out of the jar and placed it in her mouth.

"You actually eat that?" Jareth inquired.

"Its better than most of my midnight snacks." She replied before she placed another spoonful in her mouth.

Jareth raised a curious eyebrow and leaned closer. "And just what kind of midnight snacks do you usually partake in?"

Seeing his eyes darken and the smirk on his face, Sarah shook her head. "Not the kind you're thinking of, Goblin King."

"Oh?" He tried to look innocent. "I don't know what you think I could be thinking of." He shook his head. "Are you being naughty, Precious?"

"No more than you are." She teased as she used her finger to wipe the peanut butter from the spoon. Placing her finger in her mouth, she licked it clean and removed it slowly.

"Vixen," Jareth growled.

Sarah chuckled and stood to check his hair. "I think we can start to remove the gum now." She said changing the subject. She took off her robe and placed it in the chair, it was suddenly very warm in the room.

Jareth's eyes never left her as she took off the silk robe. It was all he could do to sit still when she started working on his hair once more. "There was another reason." He said quietly.

"Reason for what?" Sarah wasn't sure what he was talking about.

"Coming here."

"Oh, and what was that?" Sarah asked as she pulled a large glob of gum out of his hair.

Jareth made a disgusted face as he watched her drop the glob into the trash and bring the bin over to where he was sitting. "Well, I had hoped that by becoming a teacher you might take me a little more seriously."

"What makes you think I don't take you seriously? Other than when I have to scold you for your childish pranks." She worked on another section of the gum, causing him to flinch as she pulled his hair.

"Damn it! That hurts!"

"Oh stop being a baby. Toby doesn't even squirm this bad." She teased.

"That's exactly what I mean." He sighed.

"What?" Sarah stopped working on his hair to step in front of him.

"Sarah, you just compared me to your brother, your baby brother."

"Jareth, I wasn't calling you a child. You just act like one at times." She started to put her hands on her hips but thought better of it when she remembered they were covered in peanut butter gum goop.

"Which is why I became a teacher. I thought you'd see that I can be a mature adult." Jareth stated as he put his head down.

"Well, you're doing a fine job of being a mature adult with your prank war." She stated as she stepped behind him and continued working on the mess in his hair. "Besides, while you may go overboard at times, your playful sense of humor is one of the things I like about you."

Lifting his head, he grinned. "It is?"

"Yes, Jareth. Despite what you may think, I do like you and yes I even consider us friends." She tossed another large chunk of gum into the trash. "Come over to the sink. I think I can wash the rest out now."

Jareth stood and followed her to the sink. She washed her hands and grabbed a cup. Jareth leaned over the sink so she could work. "I'm going to strangle the one responsible for this." He groaned.

Chuckling, Sarah poured a bit of soap in her hand and used the cup to soak his hair. The remaining gum and peanut butter washed out easily. "Would you like me to wash all of your hair while I'm at it?"

"You'd do that for me?"

"Sure, I mean I already got the gunk out. Washing your hair is no problem." She went to her bathroom and grabbed the shampoo.

Jareth closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of her hands on his scalp. Who knew something so simple could feel so good. When she was done she towel dried his hair and handed him a brush. "I'm sure you'd like to fix your hair."

Nodding he took the brush and went into her bathroom to use the mirror. Before he returned there was a knock on the door. Sarah put her robe back on and answered the door.

"Pardon me, Professor," Mr. Filch said softly. "But the Headmaster wants to see all the teachers immediately."

"I'll be right there." She said before closing the door.

Just as she closed the door, Jareth stepped out of the bathroom. "Who was at the door, Precious?"

"Mr. Filch. He said the Headmaster wishes to see all of us." She headed for her wardrobe. "We should get dressed and see what's going on."

"Allow me, Sarah." Jareth tossed a crystal into the air and suddenly they were both dressed.

"Thanks." Sarah smiled as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "I guess we should get going then."

"We should." Jareth nodded as he approached her. "But first," he took her hand in his and brought it to his lips and kissed her wrist and then her palm. "Thank you for your assistance with my hair. I owe you for this." He said as he gazed into her eyes.

"You're welcome, Jareth." She stepped forward and caressed his cheek. "And for the record, you are a very mature adult, when you want to be." She teased before kissing his cheek and walking to the door.

Jareth stood there in shock for a moment, his hand gently touching where her lips had touched.

"You coming, Goblin boy?" Sarah called from the hall.

"Yes, Precious." He responded as he rushed to catch up to her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"I apologize for calling you all here at such a late hour," Dumbledore announced. "It appears that young Mr. Fenwick has wondered off. I suspect into the Dark Forrest. I want you all to split up into pairs to search the forest."

Sarah and Jareth immediately looked towards each other. Before either could suggest working together, Dumbledore made a request. "Sarah, being that you are a muggle, I want you to stay here at the school."

Sarah started to object, but he cut her off. " The Dark Forrest is a dangerous place, even for the most skilled witch or wizard. You can keep watch, should he return."

"But Headmaster..."

"No buts Ms. Williams, you will be staying."

"Yes, Headmaster," she sighed. There was no arguing with him once he set his mind on something.

Jareth looked more crushed than Sarah, he was hoping to spend more alone time with her.

"Jareth, you can search with Severus. It is about time the two of you learned to work together."

Dumbledore took advantage of their stunned silence to dismiss the lot of them.

"Peeves?" He called once he was alone.

Peeves' head poked out from the middle of Albus' desk. "Yes, Headmaster?"

"It's time."

Peeves simply nodded his head once and disappeared back through the desk.

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

Sarah sighed as she walked the others to the main gate. She didn't see why she couldn't go. If Dumbledore was worried for her safety then let her go with Jareth and Severus. They would keep her safe. Plus she might be needed to keep them from killing each other.

Jareth stopped at the door and turned to Sarah. "While I'd much prefer to be with you, Dumbledore is correct. You're safer here. We shall find the boy and return before you have time to miss me."

"Awfully sure of yourself tonight aren't you?" She grinned. "What if I miss someone else?"

Jareth pulled her close and whispered in her ear. "Then that person may not return from this excursion."

She smacked his chest. "Behave Jareth. Now hurry off so I can start missing you and worrying about your safety."

"You mean it?"

Laughing lightly, she pushed him out the door. "Just go."

As Jareth joined the others outside to get instructions from McGonagall on how they were going to conduct their search, Severus approached Sarah. "He may be a pompous ass, but he is correct. You are quite safe at the castle. I know Dumbledore would never forgive himself if any harm were to befall you, and neither would I."

"I appreciate it, Severus. I'll be fine. Bored out of my mind and probably sick with worry, but fine none the less."

"And just who are you going to be worrying about?" Snape asked.

"All of you. Especially you and my blonde twit outside." Sarah turned to face him. "I know he can be an annoying ass, but please look out for him. I don't want anything to happen to either of you."

"Why Sarah, I didn't know you cared." Snape looked out the door at Jareth who was glaring at him. "Especially for such a selfish man."

"He may be selfish, but he's a good man deep down. You just have to look past his ego." Sarah explained.

Snape sighed. "Very well. I shall keep the idiot in one piece for your sake, Sarah." He walked outside to join the others and immediately regretted his previous statement.

"Hey, Severus, is your hair extra greasy tonight? And why do you smell like olives?" Jareth questioned.

Sarah waved goodbye to them and returned inside the castle. She turned a corner to head towards the kitchens when something hit the back of her head and everything went black.

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

Jareth and Severus headed to their assigned search area in an awkward silence neither were anxious to disturb. When it finally began to grate on Jareth's nerves he spoke up. "So...does this happen often? Students wandering into the Dark Forest I mean."

"Not often, most have enough sense of self-preservation to avoid it," Snape replied. "All manner of dark creatures dwell within these woods."

"Well, that's comforting..." Jareth mumbled more to himself than to Snape

"Have no fear Goblin King, I can protect you from whatever creatures we may happen upon"

"You are hilarious Snape, do you know that?"

There was a sudden rustle in the bushes ahead of them.

"What was that?" Jareth asked

Out of the bushes wandered a unicorn foal, no more than a few weeks old.

"Awww, is this one of your dark creatures Snape?" he asked sarcastically as he approached the baby.

"I would not do that if I were you, Goblin King. Where there is a juvenile, an adult is not far off." He advised.

"Oh relax Snape, babies love me!" he whispered as he crept closer to the unicorn foal

A loud snort to his right caused Jareth to freeze. He slowly turned his head towards the noise. It was the foal's mother and she was definitely not pleased. She was pawing at the dirt in front of her.

Jareth began to try and back away slowly, but his movements only angered the mother further. She lowered her head and proceeded to charge at him. He gave a rather undignified shriek as he ran from the charging mare.

Severus watched the display from a safe distance. "You do possess magic, or have you forgotten?" he called to the still shrieking Goblin King.

Diving behind a large shrub, he transformed into a barn owl and flew onto a branch of a nearby tree to avoid the protective mother. She whinnied angrily at the offending owl and followed him as he hopped from tree to tree before heading back to her foal.

"Enough games Goblin King, we have a student to search for," said Severus

Jareth squawked indignantly at him. As the mare lead her foal further into the forest and far away from prying eyes, Jareth glided back down to the ground and promptly changed back.

The sky suddenly lit up with a red flare. That was the signal that the student had been located.

"Well it looks like we can head back, I hope Sarah didn't miss me too much while we were gone," he said with a smirk.

Severus rolled his eyes, "Your ego is astounding Goblin King." But Jareth was already on his way back and paying him no mind.

"What she sees in you I shall never understand…"

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

Sarah woke in a dark and damp room with a throbbing headache. Sitting up, she rubbed the back of her head. "What happened?" She mumbled to herself. Looking around, she found she was on a small cot in a medium-sized room. On a nearby table, she saw food, a pitcher and eating utensils. As she got up, she felt nauseous and covered her mouth. Fighting back the urge to vomit, she made her way slowly to the table and saw an envelope with her name on it. She wasted no time opening it.

"Sarah, I do apologize for the way in which you were brought here. It was not how I intended at all. Unfortunately, I need you to remain here until your King finds you. As that may take several days, I have provided you with food, beverage, and most of our library. All you need do is say what it is you wish and it shall appear. Again my deepest apologies for doing this."

Sarah stared at the signature. She couldn't believe it. "What the hell is going on?"

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

Jareth wasted no time returning to the castle. He couldn't wait to see Sarah. He debated telling her that he saved Snape from the vicious horse, but decided against it. Snape might tell her how he screamed like a little girl. No, he definitely didn't want Sarah to know about that.

As he entered the castle, he looked around. He had expected to find Sarah waiting for him at the gate. Shrugging he thought that perhaps she was helping the ones that found the student with something. He hadn't been told the condition of the boy, only that he had been found. As he headed for the medical ward, he spotted McGonagall. "Minerva!" He called out to her.

McGonagall turned and smiled at him. "Thanks for your assistance in searching for the boy. Luckily he wasn't very far into the forest."

"So the boy is unharmed?"

She nodded. "A little frightened, but not a scratch on him. Though I do believe he will think twice about going into the woods." She chuckled.

"Good." Jareth nodded. "Have you seen Sarah?"

"No, I'm afraid I haven't." McGonagall looked around. "She stayed in the castle as the Headmaster instructed, correct?"

"As far as I'm aware, she did," Jareth sighed. "I had expected her to be waiting by the gate when we returned."

"I'm sure she's fine. She probably returned to her room once she saw the flare." She tried to assure him. "It is late after all."

"You're probably right." Jareth turned to leave. "Goodnight Professor."

"Goodnight."

Jareth made his way to Sarah's room. He hoped that Minerva was correct, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. When he reached her room he found the door open slightly, just as it had been when they left. In his hurry to catch up to her, he hadn't pulled it shut. "Sarah?" He called even though he knew she wasn't there.

Getting no response, Jareth summoned a crystal to his hand. "Show me Sarah." He commanded. The crystal remained unchanged. "Show me Sarah." He commanded again. When it stayed the same, he threw it against the wall and ran to the dungeon.

"Severus!" Jareth shouted as he banged on the potion's master's door. "Severus!"

An annoyed Snape opened the door and glared at the Goblin King. "What do you want now?"

"Please Severus, I need your help." Jareth pleaded. Snape tilted his head and looked at him confused. "It's Sarah, I can't find her, not even in my crystals."

Hearing the concern in Jareth's voice, Severus wasted no time letting him in.

"Perhaps the Headmaster has blocked your crystals to prevent you from spying on her. I shall try and scry for her." He said as he walked over to a water basin and began filling it with water. He muttered a few words as he waved his hand over the water, his mind focusing on the image of Sarah. But his attempts proved futile as well, the water remained clear. "Damn," he muttered.

"There has to be something else we can try" Jareth's concern was written across his face

"There is one more thing. I can try a tracking spell. Do you have something that belongs to her?" Severus asked.

Twisting his wrist, Jareth produced a crystal. The crystal then popped to produce Sarah's hairbrush. "Will this work?"

"Perfect." Severus took the brush and pulled a few hairs from it and dropped them in a cauldron. Grabbing several potion bottles, he poured various amounts into the cauldron. To Jareth is seemed like he was pouring random amounts, but years of practice had taught Snape to measure with his eyes. After tossing in a pinch of a red powder, the room filled with smoke.

"Severus, are you trying to find Sarah, or burn the place down?" Jareth questioned.

Snape glared in Jareth's direction but said nothing. He just waited. When it cleared, a faint green line appeared and led out of the room. "This will lead us to her," Snape said with a smug look on his face.

Jareth ignored Snape's gloating and dashed out the door, Severus right behind him, quickly following the green line. The line abruptly ended in a hallway near the kitchens. There was no sign of Sarah anywhere. Upon searching the hall, they came upon a wrapped piece of Spectacularly Sticky Bubble Gum.

"What is that?" Jareth questioned as he watched Snape carefully puck up the gum.

"Gum that is extremely sticky and can't be removed with magic " Snape stated with a look of disgust as he recalled the mess it made of his hair.

"So that's the stuff." Jareth took the wrapped gum from Severus. "Who would make such a thing?"

"A certain pair of prank-loving twins we both know," Severus answered as they headed for the Gryffindor dorms.

After waking up the Fat Lady that guarded the entrance to Gryffindor tower, Jareth spent several minutes arguing with her and demanding that she let them in. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Snape shook his head and pushed Jareth out of the way. "We are both Professors here, my lady, and we need to speak with two of the students in your house on a matter of great importance."

"I'm sorry Professor, but without the password or a letter from the Headmaster himself, I can't let you in. Rules must be followed if we are to maintain order."

"To hell with your bloody order!" Jareth shouted. "Sarah's life could be at risk."

"Miss Williams?" The Fat Lady asked.

"Yes," Snape answered. "I'm afraid she's missing."

"The poor thing. And she's a muggle too." The Fat Lady fanned herself as she began to get upset. "I can't let you in, but perhaps I can fetch the students you need. Who are they?"

"Weasleys," Jareth responded.

"Which ones? Surely not Charlie or Bill. I can't see them being involved with anything like that. Percy is a good boy too."

"The twins," Snape said plainly. The Fat Lady nodded and disappeared from her portrait.

"Exactly how many Weasleys are there?" Jareth asked Snape

"Currently there are five attending Hogwarts, but I hear there are two more at home waiting for their invitations when they become of age," Severus answered.

"Are all of them like the two I've met?"

"No, thankfully the first three were model students, though Charlie does tend to pick on Percy, but other than messing with their siblings they are the perfect students. Bill and Charlie are both prefects and Percy is certain to become one as well," Severus explained.

A moment later the Fat Lady returned to her portrait and the door swung open. Fred and George stepped out dressed in their pajamas. "What's the matter, Professors?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, the Fat Lady says someone is missing," George added.

"Sarah is missing." Jareth didn't bother with formalities. He was too worried about her.

"We haven't seen her since dinner in the grand hall." One twin answered. Jareth thought it was Fred, but he couldn't be certain.

"Do either of you recognize this?" Snape asked as he held up the Spectacularly Sticky Bubble Gum.

"I told you that bloody poltergeist would get us into trouble," one of the two groaned.

"Poltergeist?

"Yes, we have many around the castle," Snape commented. "Which one?" He asked though he was certain he knew the answer.

"Peeves." The twins responded together.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Jareth and Severus promptly left the twins in search of Peeves. Being a ghost though, he could be anywhere in the castle. Fortunately, they ran across Nearly Headless Nick in the corridor leading away from the Gryffindor dormitory.

"Sir Nicholas, have you by chance seen Peeves recently?" Snape asked

"That rapscallion was in the Great Hall last I saw him, up to no good I'm sure," Nick replied as he floated towards the Professors.

Jareth grabbed Severus' arm and immediately transported them to the Great Hall, not wanting to waste any more time. "A little warning would have been considerate, Goblin King" Severus grumbled as he pulled his arm free from his companion.

Jareth was about to give a snide reply when his attention was drawn to the head table by the maniacal giggle from none other than Peeves. He was ducked under the table, so preoccupied with his task that he had not heard them come in. Jareth stalked towards the front of the room, "You!"

Peeves' head popped up through the center of the table and turned towards the angry Fae. "Uh oh!"

As Jareth reached the table, he went to grab the ghost without thinking. But his hands passed right through the specter.

Peeves noticed Jareth was furious and tried to float away

"Get back here you pesky poltergeist!" he called up to the fleeing ghost.

"Immobulus!" Snape shouted from the other side of the room, seeing the need to intervene.

Jareth looked over to him and grumbled his thanks; he had been so distracted that he nearly forgot Severus was there. Snape merely gave him a nod of acknowledgment and Jareth turned back towards Peeves "Where is she?!"

"Who?" he asked with a giggle.

"You know damn well who! Where is Sarah?!" Jareth had long ago lost his patience.

"Up, up, up, she goes; to a place most forbidden. Find her you will, but she is very well hidden!" Peeves riddled.

"What the bloody hell does that mean?" Jareth demanded.

"It means someone is playing games with us," Severus stated. "Dumbledore should be able to assist us."

"Not so fast, Headmaster's been called away. You have many tasks you must past, and demons you must slay."

"Called away?" Jareth's eyes were wide.

"How convenient." Snape sneered. He was certain this was Dumbledore's doing. He liked messing with people. "I suppose you have a clue to give us then?"

"That I do, that I do. To go up, you must go down. Find the brew left to stew. Hurry, hurry now, you'll make poor Sarah frown."

Understanding the first clue, Snape released the ghost and turned to return to the dungeon. "Wait! Where are you going?"

"A wild goose chase mostly likely." Was all he said as he kept walking, Jareth running to catch up.

Meanwhile, Sarah sat in silence reading. She had tried multiple times to find a way out, but nothing worked. She had even tried wishing herself away to the goblins. Growing bored she picked up the book and began to read about the history of Hogwarts.

Sarah nearly jumped off the bed when a grey tabby hopped up beside her. "Where did you come from?"

The cat simply rubbed against her and purred. Shrugging, Sarah started to rub the cat and sighed. "Guess you're trapped in here too, huh kitty."

"Meow."

Snape hurried back to his dungeon to find a large cauldron filling with a bubbling brew. "What is that?" Jareth asked as he pushed past the potions master to get a better look.

"Don't get too close," Snape warned, but Jareth was already looking into the cauldron. "I suspect it may be..."

Before Severus could finish his statement, Jareth stumbled back, shaking his head. "It smells horrible." He said before covering his mouth with his hand as a large yawn escaped. He grabbed a nearby chair and sat at the table. "I suddenly feel really tired."

Snape shook his head as he watched Jareth put his head down. "Idiot." He walked over to his cabinet and grabbed a vile. "Its a sleeping potion."

Yawning again, Jareth closed his eyes. "Why are you making..." the rest of his question went unsaid as he fell asleep.

Snape shook his head as he watched the sleeping monarch. Carefully he bottled some of the potion and capped the bottle. He debated leaving Jareth in the dungeon and going to save Sarah alone, but he suspected Dumbledore was behind this and knowing him there would be tasks that only Jareth could accomplish. Sighing he grabbed another bottle and pulled the stopper out. Waving it under Jareth's nose, he waited for the King to wake.

A moment later, Jareth opened his eyes and groaned. "What the bloody hell was that?"

"Sleeping potion. And a very powerful one at that." Severus answered. "We will apparently need it for our first task."

"Task?" Jareth asked as he rubbed his head.

"Yes, I believe we're being sent on a scavenger hunt of sorts," Snape explained. "Let's get going. I'd prefer not to spend all night running around, and I'd like to ensure Miss Williams is safe."

Jareth jumped up and headed for the door. "That's right! There's no time to waste, my Sarah is missing."

Severus shook his head and followed the Goblin King out the door. "Do you even know where you're going?"

Jareth stopped and turned back. "Actually, no I don't. Where are we going?"

Shaking his head, Severus walked by Jareth. "Follow me."

"Where are we going, Severus?" Jareth demanded as he followed the potion's master up the stairs.

"The Astronomy tower."

After going up three staircases, Jareth grabbed Snape's arm. "Enough of this."

Snape quickly realized what the Goblin King was about to do and tried to stop him. "Jareth, don't!"

But it was too late. Jareth tried to transport the straight to the Astronomy tower, but something went wrong. Instead of the tower they found themselves in an abandoned and unused classroom. There was dust everywhere, except for on one large item that was covered with a bright white sheet. "Where are we?" Jareth asked as he looked around.

"It appears to be an unused room," Snape offered. "Perhaps on the third floor. I know there are many such rooms on the eastern side of the castle."

"What's that?" Jareth asked pointing to the large item.

"Something that is probably best left alone," Severus stated.

"It can't have been here long," Jareth said as he walked over to it. "It's not covered in 5 inches of dust like everything else."

"You're right," Snape observed.

Jareth yanked the sheet away to reveal a large mirror. "Why would someone hide this in here?"

He stepped closer to inspect the mirror while Severus stood there staring at it silently. What he saw in the reflection was almost too much to bear. "Jareth."

"Just a minute Snape. There's something written here." Jareth ran his gloved finger over the inscription.

"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi," Snape said the words from memory. "You'll find nothing but heartbreak in that mirror."

"What..." Jareth started to turn to ask Snape what he was going on about but movement in the mirror caught his eye. "Precious?"

In the mirror, Jareth saw Sarah, dressed in a beautiful emerald dress adorned with pearls and gems. Around her neck was a medallion identical to his. "Severus, its Sarah! She's in the mirror! We have to get her out!" Jareth called out as he reached out and touched the glass.

"Jareth, she's not there." Snape said as he placed a hand on the King's shoulder.

"She is! She's right there! Are you blind?" Jareth was getting pissed. "Hold on, Sarah. I'm coming for you."

"Jareth, stop. Listen to me. Look closely at what you see. Tell me exactly what you see." Snape instructed as he stared at the smiling face in the mirror.

"Its Sarah."

"Details Jareth." Snape said through gritted teeth.

Running his hand through his hair he sighed. "She's smiling and wearing a dress worthy of her beauty."

"Any jewelry?"

Jareth smiled. "Actually, yes. She's wearing my medallion. I'm not sure where she got it. Mine is right here." Jareth held his medallion in his hand.

"There's some significance to your medallion, isn't there?" Snape asked as he stepped closer.

"It's my crown. This is the seal of my Kingdom." Jareth answered. "Wait who is that child?" Jareth asked when a blonde boy showed up and hugged Sarah.

Snape couldn't help but smile, but at the same time, he wanted to cry. "Jareth, you love Sarah don't you?"

"I...I do." He admitted. "I don't think she feels the same though. She just recently said that we're friends."

Sighing, Snape reached out and touched the mirror. "This is the mirror of Erised. It shows your heart's greatest desire. You're seeing Sarah as your wife with your child."

"My child?" A goofy grin appeared on the Goblin King's face as he stared at the mirror. "Does this show the future?"

"No, just the thing you want most. Your desire is one you can one day achieve. But that's not true for everyone." Snape explained sadly.

"So you don't see what I'm seeing right now?"

"No, I do not see Sarah."

Jareth studied Severus' face as he stared intently at the mirror. He looked sad and near the point of tears. "What are you seeing?"

"A girl with auburn hair and emerald eyes, much like the ones Sarah has." Snape told him. "She was my friend and the one person I cared the most about."

"Was?" Jareth stepped between the potions master and the mirror. "She died?"

Snape nodded and turned away from the mirror. "She was killed by the dark lord 10 years ago. I tried to save her, but I was too late."

Placing his hand on Snape's shoulder, Jareth's heart bled for him. He could only imagine how he would feel if something happened to Sarah. "I'm sorry, Severus."

Snape pulled away and headed for the door. "Sarah reminds me of Lilly. She has the same kind and gentle heart." Severus turned and looked the King in the eyes. "I never told her how I felt. I watched in silence as she married a man I hated and had his child. That child will receive his invitation to Hogwarts next year."

"That must be hard, seeing her husband and child."

"Just the son. Her husband died the same night. The boy was the only survivor." Severus sighed. "I'm not sure I can handle teaching the child."

"You don't want to like the boy because of his father, but he is still the flesh and blood of the girl you loved." Jareth sighed. "If it were me, I'd want to keep the boy safe. He may not be your child, but he's all you have left of the girl. And if she is like my Sarah, that child would have meant everything to her. Don't you owe it to her memory to protect what she loved most?"

"You have a point, Goblin King." Snape took a deep breath. "Jareth, don't make the same mistake I did. Tell Sarah before it's too late."

Nodding, Jareth headed for the door. "I will. I promise. Now let's go save Sarah."

As they made their way back to the stairs, they noticed a light coming from what should have been another vacant room.

"Odd," Snape muttered as they approached the door

"My transportation spell failing, an enchanted mirror placed in our path, and now lights where there should be none. Seems we may be on the right trail." Jareth said as he tried the door handle, finding it locked.

"Step back," Severus told Jareth as he pulled out his wand. "Alohomora"

The latch on the door clicked and the door swung open, causing the light to extinguish.

Jareth and Severus cautiously entered the room, but as soon as they crossed the threshold the door slammed shut behind them.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Jareth whispered.

No sooner had the words left his mouth when they heard a low growling noise coming from three different directions.

Jareth quickly formed a crystal and tossed it up into the air, where it hovered and glowed. Revealing a gigantic dog like creature, the size of the room and with three slobbering and snarling heads.

The three large heads loomed over them, each one snarling and slobbering. "Severus."

"What?" Snape asked as he pulled the sleep potion from his robe.

"Is there supposed to be a giant three headed mutt in the castle?" Jareth asked as he backed away slowly.

"Not that I'm aware of." Snape uncorked the bottle and prepared to throw it.

"Please tell me you have three bottles."

"No, I only have the one." Snape responded.

They ducked as the left head snapped at them. "How good is your aim?" Jareth asked as he ran to the left.

"Decent." Snape answered as he ran to the right.

"We only have one shot at this, you better not miss!"

"I know!" Snape yelled as he dodged the snapping head that was chasing him.

"I have an idea!" Jareth exclaimed as he ran under the dog. "When I give the signal, throw the bottle into the air!"

"What?! Why?"

"Just trust me!" Jareth yelled as he got behind the dog. He quickly changed into an owl and flew over the dog's heads. Seeing Severus dodging two of the heads, he flew to just above the attacking heads and screeched at Snape.

Hearing the bird, Snape looked up to see the white barn owl. He corked the bottle and tossed it up, praying he caught it.

Jareth managed to catch the bottle in his talons and used his beak to pull the cork out. As he flew over the beast, he poured the potion on each head. The creature started to wobble as the potion kicked in. Jareth continued to pour the potion until the bottle was empty.

"Watch it you birdbrain!" Snape yelled as some of the potion nearly hit him.

Jareth let go of the bottle and, along with the last of the potion, hit the center head on the top of the head.

The three headed dog collapsed on the floor with a thundering bang that shook the castle and nearly crushed Snape. Jareth landed on its back and changed back to his normal form looking quite pleased with himself. "Now what was this brute protecting?"

Severus shook his head at Jareth's smug grin. "There's a trap door under his paw." He said pointing.

Jareth jumped down and walked over to join Snape by the massive paw. "Shall we see what's so important that this beast was needed to guard it?"

"What about Sarah?"

"I'm hoping she's down there. So far it seems we're being lead on this hunt. So I have every reason to believe I'll find her through that door."

Severus nodded. Everything seemed to be happening for a reason. Finding this dog was probably part of their trials. "You're probably correct. Let's hurry before he wakes up."

The two worked together and moved the massive paw away from the trap door. Opening the door, they peered down but could only see darkness.

"Cozy," said Snape, peering below, Jareth joining him glancing into the seemingly endless darkness.

"I can't see a damn thing down there. Whoever is behind taking my Sarah, will be doing the backstroke in the bog when I find them." Snarled Jareth, fists clenched as his side.

"Bog?"

"Yes, you had a mild introduction at dinner first night." Jareth smirked remembering the antics of that evening.

" You mean that last vile goblet?" Snape's lip curled and he stifled a shudder at the memory or the horrible liquid.

"Yes, the water was drawn from the bog of eternal stench. Had Dumbledore not come to your aid with that impressive evaporation spell, you'd still be capable of peeling paint off the walls with your breath." Said the smug looking king.

Rolling his eyes with a huff, Snape then had to ask, "Do tell, what purpose does such a putrid place serve?"

"My goblins are a different breed than those your kind are accustomed to dealing with. Childlike minds, idiots really, that are practically indestructible, which comes in handy given some of their favorite pass times. They are dim witted mischief makers and horrible alcoholics, with a rather disturbing obsession with poultry and very poor personal hygiene." Jareth formed a crystal and quickly began flicking it back and forth along his hands as it began to glow. "They often require a heavy hand, or foot, to keep the little buggers in line. The bog is a handy deterrent to much of their destructive behavior. The threat of a dip in the bog also works well keeping some other, little scabs, in line. A healthy reminder of who's king is required from time to time for some."

Flicking the brightly glowing orb into the air, both stood watching as it plummeted down into the darkness below illuminating the area.

"Shall we?" At that Snape watched as the Goblin King stepped forward and swung down into the opening as if he had hinges on his boots.

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

Sarah sat with the purring cat on her lap. Sighing she closed the book she wasn't able to focus on. "I trust the Headmaster but surely there was a better way to get those two to work together."

Lifting the cat from her lap, Sarah stood and stretched. She jumped when she heard a loud clanging sound above her. "Please tell me that's Jareth and Severus coming to save me and not a troll or some monster coming to eat me."

The tabby meowed and hopped from the bed. Running to the far wall, she stopped and meowed at Sarah. "What is it, Kitty? It's a dead end," Sarah stated as she walked over.

Once Sarah was by her side, the cat pressed on the bottom brick and a door opened. "Meow."

Sarah glared at the innocent looking cat. "You knew that was there this whole time, didn't you?" The cat simply purred and rubbed against her legs.

Sighing, Sarah walked through the door with the cat right behind her. "Come on feet."

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

Jareth landed lightly on a stone floor, using his magic to cushion his landing. Looking around he could see by the light of his crystal that floated above illuminating a large area, that he appeared to be in a large cavernous room. The ceiling was high and he could see many dark recesses and pillars surrounding the room. The air was cold and damp with a stale musty scent, a familiar scent, similar to that of an oubliette or the tunnel system that ran beneath his labyrinth. He listened intently as he scanned the room for any signs of life. His eyes stopping on the dark figure that apparated to his left.

"About time you decided to join me." Though it had been less than a minute, Jareth just couldn't pass up the opportunity poke at the dark haired wizard.

With a deep sigh and roll of his eyes, Snape turned towards the Goblin King.

"Anything stand out to you?" He scanned the room himself on guard looking for their next challenge.

"She's not here. I don't see, nor hear any signs of movement and have also yet to locate any exit other than the trap door above."

"Perhaps it's best if we split up, in order to cover more ground quickly and get this over with." With that Snape turned, his robes swishing with the sudden movement and began to search along the wall leading left.

"Agreed" Jared nodded slightly as he spoke, headed in the opposite direction with his crystal following along above, lighting the way. As he made his way further along the wall he heard a faint mummer of "Lumos" behind him.

At the far end of the room, as he rounded yet another pillar looking for an exit, Jareth hears a slight shuffling sound. Quickly forming a crystal he pivoted around to come face to face with Sarah.

"Oh Precious, there you are. We've been looking for you."

"Well congratulations, you found me." Sarah looked at her fingernails with disinterest.

"Are you well? Are you harmed in any way?" He moved to grasp her by the shoulders as he looked her over, but she quickly stepped back just out of his reach. A look of revulsion on her face.

"Don't touch me." Cold green eyes glared at him as Sarah defiantly raises her chin.

"Sarah, I ..." Jareth's brow furrowed not understanding Sarah's behavior. She'd never reacted to his touch in such a way.

"You disgust me, keep your baby stealing hands off me."

Jareth blinked rapidly in confusion. Not sure he was hearing Sarah's words correctly..

"What are you talking about Precious? I thought we'd worked past all that."

"Stop calling me Precious. You may have worked past it, but I'll never forgive you for what you did."

"Wait just a minute..." He tried to defend himself but she once again cut him off.

"You strut around here like you own me, with your Precious this and My Sarah that. As if I could ever have feelings for a repulsive, egotistical, immature man child like you."

"I don't understand where this is coming from. Everything was fine when you were helping me with my hair..."

"Of course you don't understand. You're so deluded that you see a future for us, you think I care for you that I could love you, we'll guess what goblin boy. I hate you."

"Something's not right, you don't mean this, this isn't you."

"Oh, this is me all right, Sarah Williams, Champion of the Labyrinth, Defeater of the Goblin King. I made the mistake of letting you back into my life. A mistake that I'll never make again." She hissed.

"Sarah you're making no sense at all. Please just come with me and we'll get Madame Pomfrey to take a look at you. You need some rest." He again made to move to grasp her shoulders, but she was too quick to step back again just out of reach at the last moment, leaving him to snatch at thin air.

A wicked gleam came to her eye as the corner of her mouth turned up in the faintest smile.

"I'll never go with you. Because You. Have. No. Power. Over. Me."

"Noooooo" Jareth fell to his knees screaming. His heart feeling as if she had just wrenched it straight out of his chest.

"Jareth" called Snape coming running around the other side of the pillar behind Sarah at the sound of Jareth's anguished scream.

At the sound of Snape's voice, Sarah whipped around quickly to face him and to Jareth's astonishment, her hair turned Auburn.

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

As Snape made his way around the room he was quickly losing patience at finding no other exits. There had to be one somewhere and with no word from Jareth he assumed Jareth had not come across one either. Although he wouldn't put it past the Goblin King to have found an exit and moved on without him.

"Pompous ass" he muttered, rounding another pillar not surprised as once again he found nothing but solid stone walls. He suddenly jolted at the anguished sound of Jareth coming from behind the next pillar and immediately took to running towards him.

As he rounded the pillar he was very surprised to see Jareth on his knees before Sarah, face twisted as if he were in pain. Before he could ask what was the matter Sarah quickly turned towards him, only it wasn't Sarah, it was Lily. Her kind green eyes and auburn hair shinning in the light of Jareth's crystal, lighting her as if she had a halo.

Snape stood there frozen in shock of the sight before him. He couldn't move he couldn't breathe. Suddenly Lily's face contorted in pain as she turned deathly pale. With a snap, she threw her head back, as maniacal laughter came from her, only it wasn't her laugh at all. He knew that laugh. He watched as before his eyes Lily flickered out and Lord Voldemort stood before him.

"Sarah, what happened to Sarah? What have you done with her?"Jareth bellowed, rising from his position on the floor. Fury clear on his face and in his voice, as he tightened his grip on the crystal in his hand.

Quickly Snape put all the pieces together in his mind. Sarah... Lily... The Dark Lord... Damn it, of course, a Bogart.

"Riddikulus" Snarled Snape as he pointed his wand at the Bogart. A small ball of fur was left in its place. "Sarah was never here, that was a Bogart."

"A Bogart? That makes so much sense. The things it was saying, that couldn't have been My Sarah." Jareth scrubbed his hands down his face and gave a huge sigh of relief.

Rolling his shoulders trying to release some of the tension in his body his eyes spied the furry creature on the floor. It was a fluffy brown and white hamster. It looked up at him almost, longingly? Was a hamster capable of looking at something longingly? With its beady black eyes and what was it doing it? It looked to be breathing heavily.

"A Hamster? Really Snape?"

Severus picked the hamster up and dropped it in a bottle he pulled from his robe. "I wanted it to become something small and easily contained." Snape explained. Now, what happened to make you scream so?"

"She, or rather it, said those cruel cursed words. The ones Sarah said to defeat me and reject me aswell. 'You have no power over me.' Those six words sent her home, left me heartbroken, and prevented me from seeing her for many years." Jareth sighed, "I should have known it wasn't Sarah, to begin with. She wouldn't have spoken to me that way. She's not the bratty teen that wished her brother away on a stormy night anymore." Jareth stated as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Bogarts take the form of our greatest fears. You fear being rejected by Sarah. So it makes sense that it would use that against you." Snape explained.

"What about you?" Jareth questioned.

"What about me?"

"Well, it turned into the auburn haired girl, Lily right?" Severus simply nodded. "Then it became someone else. Who was that?"

"The Dark Lord, the wizard that killed Lily." Severus sad as he turned away.

"So you fear the Dark Lord?"

"Not particularly." Snape began walking away, intent on finding the way out.

"But the bogart showed Lily and she appeared to be in pain then it changed to Voldemort. If he already killed her, why do you fear that? Are you worried he'll do the same to you or someone else you love?"

"There is no one else!" Severus cried as he turned to face Jareth. "There isn't and never has been anyone that I cared about other than Lily Evans and she's the only one who cared for me. No one would miss me if I died, for they only care that I'm useful and can be of service to them. I do not fear the Dark Lord nor do I fear death. I welcome it. I deserve it. I should have protected her from him!"

Jareth stared at the potions master as a tear dared to make its way down his pale cheek. "Severus..."

"Spare me your pity, Goblin King." Snape wiped his face, cursing himself for showing such emotions. "I don't need you looking down on me more than you already do."

As he walked away, Jareth shook his head, "Too bad, because I'm going to keep looking down on you, Snivelous." Jareth ran to catch up. "I'll keep looking down on you until you learn how to make a potion to improve your fashion sense."

Snape shook his head and turned to look at Jareth. "I suppose I should make two of those potions."

"Who is the second one for?"

"You." Severus stated. "Only drunken goblins would call your attire stylish."

Jareth glared at him and soon found himself chuckling when he noticed Severus's smirk. "Well played Severus, well played."

"Now let's find the exit. I'll look over here."

Nodding Jareth went to look in the other direction. "Oh, and you're wrong Severus."

"About?"

"No one missing you. I would." Snape turned to stare wide eyed at the King. "Who else would I make fun of?"

Shaking his head, Severus went back to searching.

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

Sarah stared at the mirror in front of her. She saw it all as if she were right there with them. "Jareth..."

When the bogart had appeared and started saying those horrible things to Jareth, she banged her fists against the glass, screaming his name. But he couldn't hear her. Apparently, she was simply supposed to watch them continue this ridiculous quest. "I think I preferred sitting in the room not knowing what's going on, Kitty," she told the tabby at her feet.

Looking around it seemed the hall from the room she was held in only led to another room. "There isn't a way out you're not telling me about, is there?" The cat just stared up at her, not making a sound. This new room was empty other than the large mirror. The moment she approached it, her reflection vanished and the view changed to Jareth and Severus.

"At least it seems like their getting along a lot more now. Maybe Dumbledore's plan is working, though did he really have to put them through so much pain?" Her heart ached at the thought of Jareth's suffering at the hands of the bogart, and she wanted to cry seeing the tear on Severus's face. "Just keep moving boys, you can do this."

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

It didn't take long for Severus to locate an exit, but now they were walking down what seemed to be a never ending hallway. Jareth was quickly growing bored and started humming. "Do, do, do dodo do. Bum, bum, bum bumbum bum."

"Must you make so much noise?" Snape groaned.

"It's called humming. Have you no appreciation for the joys of music?" Jareth asked.

"I like music, but that was just random noise."

"I admit its not my best work, but the tune is catchy. I could write a song for you using it."

"Please don't," Severus implored him as he shook his head.

Jareth rubbed his chin, thinking for a moment. "Snape, Snape, Severus Snape. Snape, Snape Severus Snape."

"I'm only going to ask you to stop one more time. I do not need a song, especially not such an annoying one."

"Snape, Snape, Severus Snape. Snape, Snape, Severus Snape." Jareth continued his little ditty.

Pulling his wand from his sleeve, Severus turned to face Jareth. "If you don't stop right now, I swear I'll..."

"Hey look! A door!" Jareth exclaimed as he raced ahead. Snape sighed and watched him run ahead. At least the annoying song stopped.

The door was old, dark wood, with a knocker in the shape of a time worn face. The eyes were shut and the expression peaceful, as if it were sleeping. They noticed there was no handle or doorknob, the only option was to use the knocker.

Snape reached out, grabbing the hanging ring and swiftly knocked three times. Stepping back, the pair were not surprised when the eyes opened with a creaking sound. Blinking several times the eyes slowly moved back and forth, assessing them both as if they were bugs under a microscope.

"Before me, I see two. How may I help you?" Asked the knocker, clearly irritated at having been woken. It's voice deep and gravely with sleep.

"Seeing as you are a door, and we knocked, logic would be that we wish for you to open, and allow us passage." Snape says, crossing his arms irritated to be conversing with a door.

"Answer my riddles three and I will open for thee."

"It rhymes, charming." Snape rolled his eyes. "Do get on with it."

"Oooh riddles, I do so love riddles. Let's have it." Jareth clasped his hands behind his back and grinned. As a Fae, riddles were ingrained in his very being, almost like a secondary language. They would be through this challenge in no time at all, and that much closer to Sarah.

"One of my riddles you can not miss. Firstly you must answer this.

I am a window and with me my twin.

Beauty is within me, though not what is seen when looking in.

In hard times I flow, but in good times I glow.

Look deep in me and I will show you a soul."

Taking a brief moment to be sure of his answer, he quickly reviewed the information given and the answer was obvious and quite simple.

"Eyes" he replied in full confidence.

"Like the first, you can not miss, for my second riddle, you must answer this.

This thing all things devours:

Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;

Gnaws iron bites steel;

Grinds hard stones to meal;

Slays king, ruins town,

And beats high mountain down."

Jareth's brow furrowed as his eyes narrowed slightly, a bit more thought may be required for this riddle than the last. He began to pace as he mulled it over.

Birds, beasts, trees, and flowers are all living things easily devoured. Iron and steel, now that was trickier. Slayed kings was not a comforting thought at all. Over time mountains which are made of stone succumb to erosion. That's it... Time!

Ceasing his pacing he stopped before the door to give the knocker his answer.

"Time," he answered, with his chin held high. Only one more riddle stood in his way.

"One and two you've answered with glee. Let us see what you make of riddle number three?

The rich and the poor need it, the desperate and the satisfied want it.

The coward and the hero crave it.

In fact, everyone desires it, yet the only person who can sense it is the one who has it."

Once again the Goblin King began to pace. The movement helped the thinking process and this riddle required some thinking over. There were many possibilities bouncing around his mind, but only one could be the right answer. Needs, wants, cravings, desires, the possibilities seemed endless. He had to get this right, he had to get to Sarah.

"Bog damnit, which one is it?" He muttered to himself as he continued to pace.

"I believe I may be of assistance. Before you wear out the stone floors with your senseless pacing."

"You think you have the answer? Very well, let's have it?" Grumbled Jareth. The thought of a Fae king requiring assistance with riddle irking him. But he begrudgingly relented, if by some chance it could speed up finding Sarah then so be it.

"The answer is simple really...Love" said Snape with a hint of smugness.

Jareth thought it over and Snape was correct. Love, plain as day was the true answer.

"Hmph... Not bad, for a wizard." He refused to thank Snape, that's the closest he could do. His pride just wouldn't allow it. He turned back to the knocker and quickly gave it the answer

"Love"

"You have correctly answered my riddles three, passage is the reward I now give to thee." At that, the eyes closed and the sound of a latch giving way ways heard. The door slowly creaked open revealing a passage with a faint golden glow.

"That wasn't so difficult now was it?" Singsonged the goblin king, a little spring returning to his step knowing he was now a bit closer to Sarah.

"All that dreadful rhyming was most painful. Let us move on before it wakes up and starts again." With a sweep of his cloak, Snape entered the passage way.

As they walked down another dark corridor, Jareth prayed they were almost finished with these games. It was obvious that whoever was behind this had planned it out in detail a head of time. "Severus."

"Yes?"

"Do you have any clue who is behind all of this?" Jareth questioned.

"I have my suspicions." Snape said as he continued walking.

"Care to share them?"

Sighing, Severus stopped and looked at the King. "I believe the Headmaster is behind this. He likes things like this."

"But why would Dumbledore kidnap Sarah?"

"To force us to work together." Snape replied as he stepped through the open doorway in front of them. He froze on the other side causing Jareth to run right into him.

"Ow! Severus, what the hell?" Jareth pushed past Snape so he could see. While Severus looked like he was going throw up, or murder someone. With Snape it's often hard to tell the difference. Jareth was grinning from ear to ear below them at the foot of a large staircase was a massive hedge Labyrinth. Laughing, Jareth raced down the stairs. "A Labyrinth? Does Dumbledore not know who I am? I'll have us through here in no time. It'll be a piece of cake."

"Oh goody," Snape groaned as he followed the Goblin King down the stairs to the entrance of the Labyrinth.

Once inside the hedges, the entrance closed behind them. Looking behind them, they shrugged. "No turning back now."

"Were you thinking of doing so?"

"Not until Sarah is safely at my side." Jareth responded as he marched forward.

Snape followed as Jareth led the way. He seemed to know where he was going and took them further into the Labyrinth. He stopped only to examine something on the ground occasionally. "What is it?" Severus asked.

"Tracks." Jareth replied in a very serious tone. "We're not alone."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Jareth crouched down to get a better look at the tracks.

"Goody" drawled Snape.

"They aren't human tracks either so be on guard." At that Jareth stood to resume traversing the hedge maze and get to Sarah. It couldn't be much farther.

"Oh dear. All this time I thought this just a leisurely stroll. How silly of me." Serverus raised his hand to his throat feigning shock at such a revelation. All the while keeping pace with the Goblin King. Jareth rounded the next corner coming to an abrupt stop.

"Bloody Hell!" Jareth recoiled at the sight before him. Bracing out his arm to block the dark haired wizards way forward.

"Now what?" Snape wondered what was causing his overly flamboyant travel companion to react in such a way.

"Manticore. Of all the creatures in all the realms to house in a bloody school, a fucking manticore. Of all things, it makes no bloody sense at all. What the hell is wrong with you wizards? First, a giant three headed dog and now this. Is Dumbledore truly that daft? Or does your lot truly despise your young so? Is this some crude wizard form of natural selection?" Jareth couldn't fathom the thought of having such dangerous creatures near vulnerable children. Children were so few and so precious to his kind.

There in a small courtyard was the Manticore. The beast had a head resembling that of a man, if you squinted and cocked your head slightly to the left, body of a lion and tail of a scorpion. It had deadly looking sharp claws, which were currently digging into the ground in anticipation at the sight of what it perceived to be its next meal. It threw its head back bellowing out an ear splitting roar, revealing three razor sharp rows of jagged teeth.

"What ever happens, stay behind me," said Jareth as he stepped in front of Snape shielding him from the beast.

"I beg your pardon, I fear you may have me confused with one of our more, incompetent students. I'll have you know that I have taken down many vile creatures in my time, far more powerful than this." Snape huffed indignantly.

"Now is not the time to argue." Taking a wide stance, Jareth summoned a crystal and giving a sharp twist of his wrist a sword appeared in this gloved hand.

"Then end this pitiful attempt at chivalry and step aside. It is not as if I am a damsel in distress." Snape made to side step around the Goblin King to get a clear shot at the beast before them.

"Damnit Serverus, you pig headed fool! I don't contain a chivalrous bone in my body. Besides, with those dreadful robes and enough ale, you very well could be confused as a damsel." At that jab, Jareth moved slightly to the left better blocking off the agitated wizard.

"Take a moment, put your pride aside and think this over. You are human, be it an extremely annoying human and that nasty pieces of work right there, will kill you. One drop of its venom and you're done for. I, on the other hand, border on immortal, and yes the venom would cause me excruciating pain, but in the end still leave me very much alive."

"Point taken. But you of all people telling another to put aside their pride, is truly droll." Snape really hadn't taken the venom into consideration, a huge oversight on his part but now was not the time to dwell on that thought.

"For reasons unknown to me, Sarah has taken a liking to you and that stubborn, willful woman would never forgive me if I allowed harm to come to you." Jareth never took his eyes off the manticore as it began to pace, eyeing them up. Looking for the best point at which to make its attack.

"We can't allow it to come to us here in this narrow section. We'll have to move towards it."

They moved in tandem closer, coming into the open area. Taking in their surroundings and looking for any more dangers. They immediately noticed that they were alone with the Manticore. The courtyard was empty with an opening in the hedge on the far side, which Jareth took to be the way out. Battling the beast must be the final challenge of this miniature Labyrinth.

"I'll need to distance myself from you to get clear shots at it. I'll still stay behind you as you move but I'll keep slightly to the left." With that said Snape backed off and to the left three or four steps. Still giving him cover but allowing him the space needed to cast.

"Very well. May the fates be kind to us this day." As the last word slipped past his lips Jareth saw the manticores muscles ripple and tense up, the first signs of the impending attack.

The beast then made its move, lunging forward at break neck speed. Its claws barely missing Jareth's thigh as he moved aside landing a blow with his blade to its shoulder. As Jareth moved Snape mirrored his movement to the side and with a clear shot directed his wand to cast his spell.

"Sectumsempra" barked the wizard.

The Manticore reared back on its hind legs, roaring in pain as lacerations appeared all over its body. Bright red blood seeping out of each and everyone, staining its golden brown fur.

Seeing an opening Jareth quickly lunged to sink his sword into the heart of the manticore. Only the great beast came down just before the blade made contact. Jareth felt hot searing pain as the sharp claws of the beast sliced across his chest bringing him to his knees.

The manticore then turned its attention to the wizard, jagged razor sharp teeth bared and blood matting the lower portion of its mane. It's golden eyes burning into him, wild with rage, a trickle of blood snaking its way between the orbs from a gash on its forehead. It flicked out its tail but fell just sort of landing a blow to Snape's shoulder, as he quickly ducked and rolled back away, regaining his footing in a low crouch.

The beast then leaped closer, with no intention on missing its next attack. Serverus made to rise to his feet to move away but the manticore was too quick and swung it's tail out aimed directly at the wizard's chest. Snape rose his wand arm but realized his actions were too late.

Just as the sharp tip of the poisonous tail was about to pierce his chest. The sickening sound of steel slicing through flesh was heard. Jareth had regained his footing and positioned himself to be able to slice upward taking off the tail in one strong sweep of the blade. The upward stroke forcing the dismembered appendage off course, falling to the side.

Keeping his wits about him Snape quickly positioned himself to cast another spell.

The manticore bellowed out another pain filled roar and Jareth took his opportunity, not hesitating for a second as he leaped forward.

"Impedimenta" Jareth heard coming from behind him, the manticore froze, as if time stood still and in one downward sweep of his blade the Goblin King removed the beasts head from its body. It landed with a thump at his feet, the body not long behind.

"Are you alright?" Jareth's eyes darted all over Snape's form, looking to see if he had been pierced or if he had acted in time.

"Yes, it didn't touch me." Scrubbing his hand down his face, Serverus drew several deep breaths trying to calm his racing heart.

"If the Headmaster is truly behind this, I have a few choice words I'll be sharing with him, once we find My Sarah and get the hell out of here." Jareth had leaned over bracing his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

After a short while, Jareth regained his composure and stood, wincing as the skin of his abused chest stretched. The once crisp white shirt he wore now stained a bright red. He formed a crystal and held it to his chest. As it melted into him the skin knitted back together, leaving behind faint pink lines, visible under the shredded red fabric.

"Thank you, you saved my life just now." The two began to walk to the end of the courtyard. To the opening in the hedge that was hopefully the exit, leading them out of the labyrinth and to Sarah.

"Of course Severus, as you would do for me. Games and trickery are in my nature, I just can't help myself, hence all the verbal sparing and pranks. But I could never be so cruel as to allow you to die. Also facing Sarah's wrath at your demise is a fate I do not wish to know." The all to familiar smirk returning to the king's face.

"Yes despite all outward appearances, you aren't so terrible. As for Sarah, I'd dare say no man would wish to be on the receiving end of that level of ire." Serverus gave a small chuckle at the thought.

"All right then onward we go. And tell no one of this bit of understanding between us. I have an image to uphold you know." At that Jareth stepped thought the opening in the hedge.

"Perish the thought." Replied Snape, following right behind.

The opening did not lead out of the Labyrinth much to the pairs dismay. A long passage was before them which eventually took several turns bringing them to a much larger courtyard. Their eyes both widening as they gasped at the sight before them.

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

Sarah stared at the mirror before her, full of warring emotions as tears stream down her face. She had felt fear for Jareth and Serverus's safety as they battled the huge beast. Then relief when they defeated it. Her heart warmed listening to them have their little heart to heart talk in the aftermath, they really didn't hate each other after all. But now her tears were of rage. How could Dumbledore have allowed this to come this far? He easily could have taught them their lesson in a far less deadly situation.

Scrubbing her sleeve across her face wiping her tears she sunk to the floor, leaning her head back against the stone wall, closing her eyes for a moment to regroup and calm herself.

The kitty sensing her turmoil climbed up on her lap. Raising its front paws to her chest, it began purring, trying to reassure the troubled woman as it rubbed its face on hers.

Sarah gave a sigh, releasing some of the tension in her body and stroked the kitty's back.

"When I get my hands on Dumbledore, he is going to be one very sorry wizard, kitty. Nobody messes with my friends, I don't care who he is."

With another large sigh, Sarah continued to pet her furry four legged companion. Silently spending the next few minutes on trying to calm herself.

"This whole mess better come to an end soon, I'm not sure how much more of this emotional roller coaster I can handle."

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

At the center of the miniature labyrinth, stood a monstrous hour glass.

There in the lower compartment was Sarah, trying in vain to remain on top of the increasing amount of sand that was already up to her knees.

"Sarah!" Jareth yelled and took off running. As soon as he reached the glass, he began pounding on it..

Sarah turned to face him, her eyes full of fear. She splayed her hands on the glass and called to him, but the thick glass swallowed the sound.

Jareth motioned for her to stand back as he formed a crystal and then threw it at the glass. The crystal shattered in a burst of glitter, but the glass remained intact.

Growling, he formed more crystals and began bombarding the glass with them. Each one met their mark, but not one could so much as nic the glass. Jareth only stopped mid throw when he felt Severus put a hand on his shoulder.

"Jareth, that's obviously not working! There must a catch to opening it. Look around, there must be something to indicate how to open it." With that, the two began searching the surrounding area for clues.

Severus was concerned, the sand was piling up entirely too quickly for his liking. He knew Professor Dumbledore had something up his sleeve, but that did nothing to alleviate his increasing amount of dread.

On the opposite side of the room from where they came in was a rusty old door, with an equally rusty looking lock.

"Alohomora!" he exclaimed, with a flourish of his wand. As he suspected, the lock wouldn't budge. Things were never that simple when it came to Dumbledore.

It was then that they noticed Sarah trying to get their attention. She was mouthing something to them.

"What is it, Precious?" Jareth asked as he turned back to his trapped Champion.

"It looks likes she's saying 'Right Words'..."

"Of course! Why didn't I think of that?!"

"What the devil are you talking about?" Severus asked.

"'Say your right words', that's how things work in the Labyrinth. Words have power!"

Turning back to the hour glass, Jareth loudly asked: "How do I open this hour glass?"

Nothing happened...until a small vile appeared at the base of the hour glass with a small tag saying 'Drink Me!'

Severus recognized the vile, but carefully picked it up and opened it. A quick sniff told him all he needed to know and he passed it to Jareth.

"It's safe" he assured Jareth

Jareth didn't waste any time drinking it, the sand was now up to Sarah's stomach and looked to be speeding up. He threw the bottle down after he emptied the contents into his mouth and waited a moment. Again, nothing happened.

"Nothing is happening, shouldn't something have happened?!" Panic was now fully set in.

"Give it a moment, it should kick in quickly"

" I gave it a moment! How long do you expect me to wait?! The love of my life is about to be buried alive!" There was a slight crack noise. Surprised, they both turned to the glass. It now had a hairline crack running through it.

"So that's what will do it...tell me Jareth, when did you first realize you loved Sarah?"

"I've loved her since she called my labyrinth 'a piece of cake...'" Jareth looked startled at his straight forward answer. Another crack formed at that moment. "That was a truth serum, wasn't it?"

Severus just smirked at the dumbfounded king.

"Why didn't you ever tell Sarah how you felt?"

"I was afraid she'd reject me again..." Jareth didn't bother looking at the potions master as he answered. He was afraid to take his eyes off Sarah, the sand now up to her chest.

Crack

"Don't you trust her?"

"With my life..."

Crack

"Then tell her..."

Jareth placed his hands over hers on the glass and stared into her emerald eyes.

"I love you, Sarah"

Crack

Crack

The small fissures began branching out like a spider web. In an instant, they gave way and a wave of sand filled the room.

Jareth looked panicked as he scanned the room for Sarah, but she was not where to be seen. In her place, he found an ancient looking key.

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

Sarah banged against the mirror as she watched Jareth try to save the fake her from the hourglass. "That's not me! I'm here, Jareth!"

"He can't hear you, Sarah."

Sarah jumped at the voice and turned to see McGonagall standing behind her. "Minerva, when did you get here?"

"I've been with you the entire time, my dear." She smiled.

Sarah looked around and noticed her furry companion was gone. "The cat? That was you?"

McGonagall nodded. "The Headmaster asked me to keep you company. I thought my feline form would be more comforting."

"I have a few choice words for the Headmaster when I see him." Sarah stated as she glared at the older woman.

"I figured you might." McGonagall chuckled. "Now pay attention, you don't want to miss the final challenge."

Sarah looked back at the mirror and heard Jareth asked, "How do I open this hourglass?"

When she saw the vial appear before him, she turned to the woman beside her. "What is that?"

"Veritaserum," McGonagall replied. " a truth serum."

"Truth serum? Why does he need to drink a truth serum?" Sarah questioned but McGonagall just pointed to the mirror, silently telling her to wait and see.

She watched intently as Severus questioned Jareth each answer creating a crack in the hourglass. "He loves me..." Sarah couldn't believe what he was saying. She knew he cared for her but to hear he loved her and had loved since her run through the Labyrinth. It put so many things in perspective. "But what no one knew…" She thought back to the story she had read a thousand times.

"Everything thing I've done I've done for you..." Sarah mumbled the words from so long ago. "I move the stars for no one..."

McGonagall watched Sarah's reactions to his confessions. She handed her a handkerchief when she saw a tear making its way down her cheek. "Come on, dear. He's waiting for you."

Sarah took the handkerchief from McGonagall and followed her down the hall to a large rusty door.

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

"Sarah!" Jareth screamed as he dug through the sand, the rusted key still in his hand. "Where did she go?"

"What do you have there?" Severus asked as he rushed over to where Jareth was kneeling.

"A key, but where did she go?"

"A key?"

"Yes, a bloody key! What good will it..." he stopped as he looked in the direction that Snape was pointing. "A door..."

Jumping to his feet, Jareth raced to the door. He placed the key in the lock and after struggling for a moment, he unlocked and opened the door. He froze when in saw the figure on the other side of the door. "Precious?"

Sarah stepped through the door, unsure of what to say to him. After all he went through, the challenges, facing a manticore, and finally admitting that he loved her. How do you respond to that. Unable to find the right words, she did the only thing she could think of, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Caught off guard by her sudden action, Jareth's eyes widdened in surprise, but soon his arms wrapped around her waist as he kissed her back. Snape watched the two, feeling rather uncomfortable, for a moment before he cleared his throat.

Sarah pulled away feeling embarrassed. She had completely forgotten that Snape was there. "Sorry." She muttered as she blushed.

"Well, I'm not." Jareth said as he cupped her chin with one gloved hand. "I've been so worried about you." He kissed her again before she had time to protest. When he ended the kiss, Jareth leaned his forehead against hers. "Are you alright? You're not hurt are you?"

"I'm fine, Jareth." Sarah smiled as she gazed into his eyes. "I knew you'd find me."

"Yes, he was a panicking fool when he learned you were missing." Snape informed her, a smirk on his lips.

"I did not panic." Jareth argued.

Sarah laughed as the two bickered, pretending they weren't friends now, but she knew better. Hugging him tightly, Sarah rested her head on his chest. Jareth smiled and held her close. "Can we get out of here now?" Sarah inquired. "I've had enough of puzzles and mazes."

"I agree completely, Precious." He stated as he kissed her forehead. "But first who kidnapped you? I must make the bastard pay."

"I'm afraid I was the one responsible for Miss Williams disappearance." They all turned to see Professor Dumbledore standing where the hourglass had been, with Professor McGonagall at his side.

"You! You, of all people?" Jareth pulled Sarah closer to his side, his free hand clenching tightly into a fist. "I ought to dip you head first in the bog!" He growled.

"My good man, you'll go nothing of the sort." Dumbledore chuckled. Clasping his hands together, he stepped towards the irate monarch and placed his hand on his shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze. "Sometimes the lessons we need to learn are hard fought. But the outcome is ever so rewarding when one rises to the challenge." Looking at Sarah he gave a wink.

"Ah yeah, Speaking of challenges, there are much better ways you could have taught these two to play nicely." Sarah glared at the headmaster, cold fire burning in her eyes.

"Yes, Miss Williams you are correct. Things could have been done in a shall we say, more conventional manner. We could very well have treated them as the children they were acting out as," he paused, looking in turn to each of the men before him before directing his attention back to Sarah. "Sent them to detention, perhaps removing their privileges and so on. But would that have made the necessary impact? Would it have brought about the proper turn of events, leading them to come to terms with each other's nature and learning to work together as opposed to against each other, and in a very short period of time I might add. Yes, things could have been handled differently, but I stand by my choices, as no real harm came to anyone. Serverus and Jareth have both learned to work together, harnessing the power of each others strengths, while witnessing each other's weakness and coming to one and others aid when the time came. That sort of bond is everlasting and as you have also witnessed they have formed a friendship, one that you will see stand up to the test of time." Releasing Jareth's arm he clasped his hands behind his back. His blue eyes twinkling as he nodded, sure of his response.

"Also, if I may add, our dear Goblin King's declaration has brought about something between you two, that, given both of your stubborn natures, may have never come to light." Professor McGonagall stepped forward gently placing her hand on Sarah's arm as she spoke.

"Ah yes, love. Love is always the answer, isn't it? I think we all can agree that words have power and that when one uses the right words, that power produces the strongest form of any magic. I may have a bit of a soft heart, but the world can always use just a bit more love." The Headmaster had a small wistful smile on his face as he spoke.

"Now that the necessary events have come to the proper conclusion, we have a small bit of business that must be attended to. With half of the year already over, I must thank you both for coming here to Hogwarts and enriching our young student's minds with all you have to offer. Jareth your generosity in coming to Hogwarts and putting your life and kingdom on hold this past year, dedicating this time to furthering the student's education is an act that will forever have my gratitude. In recent days I have received word from professor Quirrell that he will be returning to Hogwarts next year. I feel that professor Quirrell has much to offer the students in the position of defense against the dark arts teacher and will be offering him the position knowing that you must return to your duties Underground.

Snape quickly stepped towards the Headmaster as he spoke. "Professor if I may interject, I believe that I have much to offer in the position of teaching defense against the dark arts. I believe my strengths greatly outweigh any that could be brought forth by professor Quirrell and would like you to consider me for the position."

"Serverus, I understand your desire for the position but with your affinity for potions, I must insist you remain as potions master for the time being. I have no other who could possibly fill your shoes, but I will keep your request in mind and should the time come that I find someone of your caliber to take up your place I will then gladly give you the position of dark arts teacher."

With a heavy sigh, Snape nodded and stepped back. He understood the professor's reasons, even if he didn't like the idea of the sniveling professor Quirrell having the position he wanted so badly. He knew there was no point arguing with Dumbledore when his mind was made on the matter.

"Back to what I was saying, Miss Williams, you have been a joy to have here at hogwarts and we would love to have you continue on here with us in the field of muggle studies."

"If I may, Professor," Jareth turned towards Sarah looking into her eyes and grasping both of her hands in his. "Precious, before you answer the headmaster, I would like to have the opportunity for us to speak privately. There are a few matters to which I believe we need to discuss."

With a nod to the king, Sarah looked towards the headmaster.

"I think Jareth's right. We do need to have a chance to talk about a few things. If it's alright with you professor Dumbledore I can come by your office after we've had a chance to talk things over."

"I believe that sounds like a marvelous idea. Feel free to stop by anytime Miss Williams, Fawkes does love when you come to call." He clapped his hand as he gave a small bounce in the balls of his feet. "I do believe we've all had about enough of things down here anyway and think it's time we all retire to our rooms. Goodnight all" At that he disappeared before their eyes.

"Yes, I do say rest is in order. Goodnight," said MacGonagall

"Yes I agree, goodnight" drawled Snape.

The two then followed Dumbledore's lead and disappeared.

"Shall we Precious?" He held out his arm to her.

"Yes get me the hell out of here." With that, she stepped into his arms and as he pulled her close, transported them away.

The Goblin King and Sarah appeared in Sarah's room and stood there holding one another for a moment before separating. Jareth kissed her forehead and then released her. "Precious, were you in that hourglass or was that an illusion?"

"I wasn't in the hourglass, but I did see and hear everything that happened at the end of your challenge." Sarah told him as she pulled away went to sit at the table.

Jareth followed and sat beside her. "So you heard everything?"

Nodding, Sarah placed her hands on the table and Jareth covered them with his gloved ones. "I saw you face that boggart. I heard what it said to you, as me."

"Sarah..."

She pulled one hand free of his grasp and reach out to touch his cheek. "I would never say such things. You know that, right?"

"I knew it felt wrong, but it wouldn't be the first time you've rejected me." Jareth stated sadly, avoiding eye contact.

She grabbed his chin and made him look at her. "Jareth, I was 15, I had no idea what you were offering or if you were serious about anything. I thought it was a trick to stop me from saving Toby."

"And now that you know the truth?"

Smiling, she ran her fingers along his jaw. "Since the tunnels, huh?"

He chuckled. "Yes, the moment you said my Labyrinth was a piece of cake I thought, gods I love this infuriating girl." Grabbing her hand he kissed it softly, his eyes never leaving hers. "What about you, Precious?"

Sarah bit her lip nervously. She knew she cared for him, she had for a while, but was it love? She took a deep breath and pulled her hand away. "I do care for you, but I'm not sure I'm ready to call it love."

Nodding Jareth hung his head. How could he expect her to feel the same way he did. "But," Jareth looked up when she spoke. "I'm willing to see where this goes."

His eyes lit up and he smiled. "You mean..."

"Yes, Jareth. I'm willing to try making a relationship between us work."

"Oh, Sarah, I will be your willing slave." He knelt in front of her taking her hands in his. "You shall have anything and everything you want. All you need do is command me."

"Jareth if that's how a relationship with you will be then it won't work." She told him as she brushed his wild hair from his face.

"But Precious..."

"Jareth I don't want a slave. I don't need someone to wait on me hand and foot or do my bidding." She caressed his face and gazed into his eyes. "What I want and need is an equal. Someone that will talk with me, be a friend and confidant. Someone to share my joys and my pains." Standing she offered her hand to him. "Do you think you can be that person, Jareth?"

Taking her hand, he stood and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm not going to say that I can be all of that, but I'm going to do my damnedest to meet your expectations. Even if its exhausts me once again."

Leaning her forehead against his, Sarah hugged him. "Giving it your best and being truthful with me is all I ask."

Smiling, he kissed her softly, one hand coming up to tangle itself in her dark hair. "I love you, Sarah." He whispered before kissing her again, this time with more passion. Without breaking the kiss, he scooped her up and carried her to her bed, where he sat down with her on his lap.

As he started kissing down her neck, Sarah grabbed his hair and made him look at her. "I'm not sleeping with you tonight, Jareth."

"Sleeping isn't what I had in mind, love." He replied with a smirk as his hands rubbed up and down her sides.

"Fine," she grabbed his hands and placed them on her lap. "I'm not having sex with you tonight."

Sighing, he pouted for a moment then rested his head on her shoulder. "Forgive me, Precious. I got caught up in the moment. I never even discussed boundaries and expectations as far as intimacy with you."

"Good boy, Jareth." She teased. "So you can compromise."

"Careful, Sarah. I do have ways of punishing you, not all of them are things you'd enjoy, though most of them are." He warned.

"Pervert." She shook her head and wrapped her arms around his neck. "So, what shall I tell Dumbledore?"

"That is your choice, dear. I can't decide for you."

"True but you can give me your thoughts and opinions on the matter." She told him as she rubbed her nose against his.

"Well if it were up to me, which it's not, I would carry you off to my castle and never let you work another day in your life. But as you've already stated you don't wish to be treated that way, I say continue to teach if that makes you happy." Jareth stated as he held her close. "All that matters to me is your happiness. If you wish to return to Hogwarts I'm sure arrangements can be made for me to come to visit. Take your time and think it all over. We do still have a semester left."

Nodding, Sarah hugged him and laid her head against his chest. "I do love teaching. I'm just not sure Hogwarts is the right place. I mean how do you manage and maintain kids with magic?"

"Usually with stronger magic." Jareth answered.

"Which I don't have." She sighed and her fingers played with the medallion around his neck. "I think I'll decline Dumbledore's offer to come back. Though I do need to thank him."

"For what? Kidnapping you?" Jareth scoffed.

"Yes." She lifted her head to look him in the eyes. "While I don't agree with his methods, he did give us the nudge we needed. And who knows where this new journey will take us, but the Headmaster got us on the right path." She kissed him softly then ran his fingers along his jaw.

"Then here's to the Headmaster and new beginnings." Jareth stated as he reached over and grabbed a glass from the table and magically filled it with wine. He held it out to Sarah.

"To new beginnings." She stated before taking a sip handing back to Jareth, who drained the cup.

They sat on the bed, holding one another, talking and kissing well into the early morning hours, when Sarah fell asleep in Jareth's arms. He held her close and closed his own eyes, soon joining Sarah in peaceful slumber.

~*~*~*~/.../~*~*~*~

The next months went by in a flash and soon they were all gathered in the Great Hall for the final feast of the year.

"My how quickly another year has passed us by. All of you, have gained vast amounts of skill, and knowledge in this year, and I speak for all of the teaching staff when I say, that we are all very, very, proud of all that you've accomplished. Moving on, a few last minute matters of business to announce before we begin our feast. First off, Professors Kingston and Williams will be leaving us. I would like to take this moment to thank them for their time here at Hogwarts in the process of furthering your education in the ways of the dark arts and muggle studies. Both Professor Williams and Professor Kingston, have brought their own individual insight and expertise in their respective classes and I hope you will all take this opportunity to give a round of applause as thanks to them." All four house tables erupted into a loud roar of cheers and applause. Mixed in were the calls of the odd student.

"We love you Professor Kingston!"

"I'll never forget you Professor Kingston!"

"Sweet ass Professor Williams!"

"Marry me Professor Williams!"

"I want to have your babies Professor Kingston!"

Sarah blushed and quickly covered her face as Jareth barked out a laugh leaning in towards her. "I dare say we've made a lasting impression on these young minds my dear."

Professor McGonagall spoke up. "Settle down, settle down, that's quite enough of you lot, thank you very much."

"Thank you Professor McGonagall."Dumbledore nodded in thanks before continuing. "Now, Professor Quirrell will be returning to us here at Hogwarts after a year of travel. He will be taking up the position of defense against the dark arts. I feel he has much to offer in furthering your studies in the subject."

A slight indignant huff and grumbling caught Jareth's ear from the end of the table and he couldn't help but give a little smirk at the brooding dark haired wizard before returning his attention to the head master.

"At this time, we do not have anyone assigned to the position of muggle studies. But rest assured, that we will have a professor in place before the commencement of next term. Now for our final bit of business. At the close of the school year, as you are all aware, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, which is a very great honor. This year the house with the highest point and recipients of the house cup is, Slytherin House." With a clap and a wave of his hands, green banners decorated the great hall.

Once again there was a round of applause, much more subdued than the last, as most of the cheers came from the far right table.

"Well done, you should all be very proud of yourselves and your achievements this year. I fear I once again have spent too much of your precious time rambling on, tuck in." With that Dumbledore stepped back from the podium taking his seat at the head table with all the teaching staff.

"Well seeing as I am no longer officially a member of the staff here, I must say it's been fun Serverus. But for the love of the Gods man, get yourself some better shampoo or lay off the conditioner some. Clearly, as potions master you must hold at least enough skill to whip up something or other to fix that travesty on your head."

"Oi, are you seeing this?" Fred said, elbowing George in the ribs.

"Oh yeah, it's on!" Nodded George, his eyes not straying from the head table.

"Of course, your majesty thank you for those parting words of wisdom. Do forgive me for not bowing or groveling at your royal feet, bad back you know," replied Snape rolling his eyes at the unoriginal remarks by the Goblin King.

With another bark of laughter, Jareth turned to make his way down the table to say a few words to the other professors before his departure.

"I still can't understand what you see in him." Snape said as he finished dishing up the plate before him.

"Yeah he's a pompous ass, but he's my pompous ass." Sarah took a large sip of her butterbeer. She was really going to miss the stuff but thought she may be able to reproduce the flavor at home and maybe add a healthy splash of butterscotch schnapps.

"It's never too late to run. With no replacement for you, as of yet, I'm sure Professor Dumbledore would gladly allow you to stay on." Reaching for his own goblet of pumpkin juice.

"I'll keep that in mind." Sarah was suddenly startled as Serverus began to cough and sputter as if choking on his pumpkin juice. She quickly moved to him and rubbed his back. "Are you ok?"

"Soap... bloody ...idiot." Snape gasped as the entire great hall erupted in laughter.

Sarah quickly turned to see what the cause of the uproar was. As she looked about, the brightest shade of neon green stood out, drawing her attention.

Jareth stood obliviously in all his blindingly bright green glory, speaking to Professor McGonagall as the poor woman tried her best to politely hold in her laughter. Unfortunately, she could hold it in no longer and let loose near keeling over at the sight before her.

Placing his hand on his hips Jareth took in the scene of the entire great halls merriment wondering what he had missed as he felt a hand grasp his shoulder.

"It appears my good man, that you have not held up your end of the agreement." Dumbledore cleared his throat in an attempt to hold back his own laughter.

"Albus, what are you talking about?" Questioned the befuddled King.

With a flick of his wand a silver handheld mirror appeared in the Headmaster's hand and he held it up for the Goblin King to take in his own appearance.

"Bloody hell!" He roared. "I no longer hold the position as a professor here rendering the contract now void. Fix this mess at once, Albus!"

"If you recall Jareth, the contract you all signed stated the terms being till the end of the year. Which, since the trains returning the students don't depart Hogsmead station till tomorrow, I dare say you'll remain this fetching shade of lime green till the year truly comes to an end." Dumbledore gave in with a chuckle "It's not so bad, I dare say it brings out your eyes." With a wink, he returned to his seat to continue his meal.

"Oh, this is good."

Jareth turned at the sound of Sarah's voice behind him.

"Serves you right, trying to get one last prank in on Serverus. A goblet of soap? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"It was nice soap at least, I used the bottle of Pumpkin Spice Bath and Body Works soap from your chambers. I figured since he likes pumpkin juice so much, the greasy git might like it as well." Jareth paused as she glared at him. "Don't look at me like that, the year is over and as I am officially no longer considered a professor here, the contract should be rendered void now. It was just a bit of a laugh as a parting gift. You can't expect me to be dull and boring obeying the rules all the time. It's just not in my nature."

No longer able to keep a stern look on her face Sarah gave into joining the rest of the laughter. "Wait till Hoggle sees this." She snorted. "You're never going to live this down."

"I think it's safe to say your friend Hogwash will not be seeing me in this state, as I've decided I'll spend one last night in my room here before returning to the castle." Sulking, he crossed his arms over his chest and gave a little huff.

"Well, I'll just have to tell him all about it then. I can hear the tales now, the day the rat bastard turned greener than a festering troll arse." She giggled.

With a flick of his wrist, Jareth produced a peach and held it before Sarah's face.

"My dear you haven't touched your meal and you look famished. Here eat this." He gave his best attempt at an innocent look but failed miserably.

"Oh, not on your life Goblin King! The girl who once ate the peach and forgot everything, is sure as shit going to remember this moment forever."

"Damn, well can't blame me for trying to retain a shred of dignity. Come let us sit, might as well join in the feast. Oh, do you see that smug looking bastard there? Grinning like the Cheshire Cat."

Sarah turned just in time to see Snape hide his grin behind a fresh goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Well it's not every day we get to see a king getting his just desserts."

"Bugger off, the lot of you. I should send every last one of you to the bog. Would serve you all right, laughing thusly at a king." He flopped into his seat admitting defeat, for the time being, perhaps he could reorder time later in the evening to avoid this whole mess.

"Oh don't get your knickers in a knot Jareth. I'm sure as enough time passes you'll eventually live this down." Taking her seat she took another large drink of deliciously creamy butterbeer.

Jareth, never one to pass up a golden opportunity, leaned in close enough so his lips brushed the shell of her ear and his arm reached around her shoulder pulling her tight.

"Now you see, Precious, that you're wrong about. I can't very well get my knickers in a knot when I'm not wearing any." At that remark it was Sarah's turn to choke and sputter on her drink, the smug king just sat back in his chair turning his own pumpkin juice to wine.


	6. Epilogue

**Chapter 6**

Epilogue

A year had come and gone since Jareth and Sarah left Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Sarah had taken a teaching postion at a small college in England, completely magic free, and Jareth had returned to his Kingdom in the Underground. School was finally out for Summer break and Sarah was enjoying the start of her holiday by visiting the castle beyond the Goblin City.

As she looked out over the Labyrinth from Jareth's balcony, familiar arms wrapped around her from behind. "Morning, Precious," he whispered as he kissed her neck.

"Morning, Jareth," she smiled as she leaned back against him. "Did I wake you?"

"Only in the fact that my bed grew rather cold with out you in it." His hands started to unfassen the few buttons of the shirt she wore, which happened to be his, as he nuzzled her neck. "Come back to bed, love."

Turning to face him, Sarah grinned seeing he was completely nude. "I thought you said you couldn't sleep all day?"

"Who said anything about sleeping?" Jareth smirked as he lifted her into his arms. He carried her back to his bed and placed her down gently before climbing over her. "Have I told you how incredibly sexy you are in my shirts?"

Sarah ran her hand through his blonde hair and tilted her head, "I believe you have, though I think you usually add how much better the shirt looks on the floor."

"Quite true," he replied as he kissed her. Before long he had the shirt off of her and tossed it over his shoulder as his lips explored and lavished attention on her creamy breasts. He never grew tired of seeing her naked. It was the most incredible sight he'd ever seen and one he planned to see daily.

As his lips traveled down her body, kissing and licking every inch of flesh they encountered, his hands joined with hers and their fingers intertwined. Sarah moaned softly and she smiled as she looked at the large emerald on her left hand. She wasn't sure who was closer to tears the night before, her or Jareth.

So many things had happened over the last few years, but none of that was on their minds as they made love for the third time that day. All that mattered was they were together, in love, and happily engaged.

Several hours later, as they laid in bed together, a knock on the door caused them both to sit up. Sighing, Jareth stood and with a wave of his hand, he was dressed in his sleep pants. Answering the door, Jareth found a goblin holding a very unhappy owl by its feet.

"Weird birdy flies into throne room."

Jareth carefully took the poor thing from the goblin and closed the door. It was obvious to him the owl was a messenger from the wizarding world. He placed the frightened creature on the table and patted its head softly. "There, there, little one. You're safe now."

The owl hooted softly at him and offered the King his leg. Jareth removed the small parchment, which grew as he unwrapped it, and sat back in his chair reading the letter.

Growing curious, Sarah climbed out of bed and retireved his disguarded shirt once more. "Is everything alright, Jareth?" she asked as she came to stand behind him.

"We recieved a letter from an old friend."

"We?" she questioned.

"Yes, it's addressed to both of us. I guess it was rather obvious that I wasn't letting you get away." Jareth smirked as he pulled her on to his lap.

Taking the letter from him, she grinned. "It's from Severus."

"Yes, it seems he had quite the year with out us. He has his hands full with the Potter boy."

Sarah skimmed the letter quickly. "Who is this child? The boy who lived?"

"Harry Potter is the child of the woman our dear Severus fell in love with. Sadly his mother died saving his life from the Dark Lord." Jareth hugged her tight as he remembered Severus telling him about what happened. "He wasn't sure how to deal with her son coming to Hogwarts."

Sarah nodded and finished the letter. "Sounds like he has decided to look out for the boy. Though sounds like they faced a lot more danger this year than the trials Dumbledor made you two go through."

"Yes, it seems that way." Jareth stated as he noted the concern in her voice. "Fear not, Precious. Severus is quite capable of taking care of himself. I'm sure he and the Potter boy will be perfectly fine." He took the letter from her and placed it on the table. "Shall we send him a reply and tell him the wonderful new?"

Smiling, Sarah kissed him softly. "Why do I get the feeling you just want to brag?"

"Is it wrong of me to be thrilled and want to tell the world how lucky I am?" Jareth asked innocently.

"Just don't gloat too much." She told him as she stood. "Send a reply, make sure you tell him hello for me." She called over her shoulder as she headed for the bath. "Then come join me once the owl has been sent safely on his way."

"Right away, my Queen." Jareth wasted no time writting a quick note and attaching it to the owl's leg. Carefully he carried the little thing to the balcony and set it free to return to its home in England. "Safe travels little one." He whispered as he watched it fly off.

"Here's hoping Severus finds some happiness. The Gods know he certainly deserves some." Jareth quickly shed his pants and hurried to join his fiance in the bath.  
_

Authors (in alphabetical order) :

BustedBrain

ChilaliSnowbird

Jediavenger

Lady-Lannie-Queen-of-Goblins

Stormlight


End file.
